Accession number
MG 040
Date made
7th century AD
Materials
Metal; Copper Alloy; Bronze; Glass; Enamel (champlevé)
Collection
Dimensions (cm)
Archival information
File of material relating to object known as the Oxford disc. Includes information card with photocopy of image of object (date unspecified). Reference to the fact that object published in '50 Treasures from the Hunt Collection' (Limerick: Hunt Museum Executive, 1993) by Patrick Doran. Information card also contains reference to another publication, 'Celtic Ornament in the British Isles' (Oxford, 1933) by E.T. Leeds; photocopy of relevant part of the Doran publication is present; photocopy of extract from 'Anglo-Saxon Art to 900 A.D.' (London: Methuen Co., first published 1938) by T.D. Kendrick which contains image of present object or one which is very similar; described as an enamelled escutcheon found near Oxford and in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Farnham; letter, and photocopy of same (12 August 1977), from Rupert Bruce Mitford, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin 2, to Gertrude Hunt. Writes that present object is that illustrated by Leeds and in a photograph in a paper by Francoise Henry published in the 'Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland' (volume LXVI, 1936); two photocopies of extract from Henrys paper which contain image and brief description of the disc; two photocopies of extract from 'Catalogue of a Collection of European Enamels from the Earliest date to the End of the XVII Century' (London: printed for the Burlington Fine Arts Club); photocopy of extract from unidentified publication (date unspecified), possibly a journal. Pages are headed with title, 'Collection of Medieval Rings, etc'; printout from the website (11 October 2004) of the Archives and Special Collections, University of Hull, which conveys information about the Londesborough estate, the Denison and Burlington families; three notes and photocopies thereof, the first of which (date unspecified) contains reference to the Leeds publication; second note (date unspecified) comprises description of the Oxford disc; note (date unspecified) which refers, at least in part, to the present object. Mentions Sothebys and the figure £12,500. Also, the Egger Catalogue 1899; letter (2 June 1995) from Susan Youngs, Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities, to Michael Holland, Registrar, Hunt Museum, in which she makes some observations about several objects in the Hunt Museum. In relation to present object, states that it must fall towards the middle to end of the period 550-650 A.D. Also, that technically, the blue spots found on the object are most interesting. Youngs also encloses photocopy of extract from paper she wrote for 'The Antiquaries Journal' (7 May 1992) in which she mentions present object; also present is transcription of relevant portion of the Youngs paper; document (22 May 1995) by Michael Holland, Registrar, Hunt Museum, conveying information given by Youngs at the time of her visit to the Hunt Museum. In relation to present object states that the disc is one of a set of decorative plaques, probably three, originally with a frame and other fittings from a hanging bowl. Secondary use as a pendant in the Anglo-Saxon period.
Category
Place of collection
Copyright Attribution
Hanging-bowl escutcheon disc | Metal,Copper Alloy,Bronze, Glass,Enamel (champlevé) | 7th century AD | The Hunt Collection | PD
