Tiny tell-tale details on Insular metalwork
Decoration on Insular metalwork dating from the late seventh to the ninth century AD is distinguished by mastery of complex ornament on such a minute scale that it is best examined under magnification-‘more like the work of fairies than of human beings’, according to one nineteenth-century commentator. In this talk attention will be drawn to three very different but equally telling details. The first is the placing of tiny granules at the back of the mouths of small filigree animals on the Hunterston brooch. The second is the treatment of Ultimate La Tène ornament on the Steeple Bumpstead boss. The third is the tiny horn on filigree animals on th...