Incomplete cast copper alloy Anglo-Saxon button brooch with up-turned rim, most likely of Avent and Evison Class C. Found by metal detector at Rowhay Farm, Lower Upham, Upham, Hampshire. Circa 5th-6th century AD. Moulded anthropomorphic face-mask decoration with a small, flattened and rounded helmet. The eyebrows, nose and mouth form part of one element. The eyes appear irregular, although this may be due to wear, but were most likely quite narrow. There are two bars beneath each eye, representing eye-rings and/or cheek bars. The face-mask is set within a raised circular border. There is evidence of gilding on the upper surface. The reverse is generally flat. There is evidence of the remains of the pin bar lug and catchplate, and it is clear that the pin would have been aligned across the axis of the face. Sections of the rim are missing in two areas. Interestingly, the four Class C brooches discussed by Avent and Evison have all been recovered from South Sussex or Wiltshire.
Button brooch
Anglo-Saxon, 5th-6th century AD
Found with a metal detector at Upham, Hampshire
This incomplete cast copper-alloy brooch was once gilded, but now only small traces remain. It is still possible to make out the face-mask decoration. The eyebrows, nose and moustache form one element. Above is a flattened rounded helmet. The brooch dates from about the 5th-6th century AD, a time celebrated in the famous Anglo-Saxon poem
