Art Resource - ART201067

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Gold belt buckle fom the ship-burial at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, early 7th century. It is hollow and made in two parts joined by a hinge. The master-craftsman who made it devised a locking system involving a complex system of sliders and internal rods which fit into slotted fixings. These fill the interior leaving little space for the safe storage of a relic, a function which has been suggested for such hollow, high-status buckles. The surface of the buckle and the tongue plate are decorated with writhing snakes and intertwining four legged beasts. Their bodies are highlighted with punched ornament filled with black niello. At the toe of the buckle, two animals gently hold a tiny dog-like creature in their gaping jaws. On the shoulders are two birds' heads with cruel, curving beaks (perhaps a reference to Odin, a god from Norse mythology). The metal and decoration of these buckles reflected the wealth and status of their owners.
M AND ME, 1939,10-10,1

Location British Museum/London/Great Britain

Unique Identifier ART201067

Type Image

Purpose Public

Size 4000px × 2453px

Photo Credit Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY

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