Description

Summary: 1 pair of cast button brooches of leaded gunmetal, mercury gilded, with human mask desgin, from Grave 44, from the pagan Saxon cemetery called 'Black Patch' at Blacknall Field, Pewsey, Wiltshire, excavated by Ken Annable and the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1969-1976.

Research results

A pair of Early Medieval gilded copper alloy button brooches, from grave 44 of the Blacknall field cemetery, Pewsey, excavated by Ken Annable and the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1969-1976. The brooches were buried with a young adult woman of around 21, and are decorated in Salin's style I. The decorative style, which originated in Southern Scandinavia, often depicted complex arrangments of stylised animals and humans; this brooch depicts a moustachio'd human mask, as is common in button brooches.

This object was examined by Leah Moradi of the University of Exeter as part of her study investigating shamanistic and totemic practices and beliefs in fifth to seventh century Wessex and East Anglia through depictions of humans and animals on contemporary grave goods. Her study found that anthropo- and zoomorphic decoration was most often found with mature women between the ages of around 25 and 40, suggesting that some members of this group may have held a special status. She also notes that anthropomorphic depictions and the use of gold or gilding was more common in the wessex region, whilst depictions of certain animals, especially horses and birds, were far rarer; this may imply regional variation in belief structures, or the traditions of display through which they were presented.