Selection of Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Button Brooches

Decorative garment accessories such as pins, brooches and fibulae have been prevalent in the archaeological record of Europe and the Near East for millennia. Anglo-Saxon brooches, known as dalc or spennel, were mainly worn by women to fasten their dresses and cloaks. Much stylistic influence was from the proximate Celtic, Roman and Germanic cultures, and as such Anglo-Saxon brooches come in a rich variety of shapes, designs and materials. Disc-shaped brooches feature alongside cruciform, trumpet, faunal and bow shapes, and the bronze was often embellished with colourful enamels and intricate engravings. Brooches could also carry religious motifs and symbolic meanings, as well as being a visual marker of status and wealth.