Anglo-Saxon bling — a warrior king’s Golden Helmet

Cooper, Frank (2021) Anglo-Saxon bling — a warrior king’s Golden Helmet. Gold Bulletin. ISSN 2190-7579

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Abstract

Abstract In 2009, a metal detectorist discovered a hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver in a field in Staffordshire. Hence, it quickly became known as ‘The Staffordshire Hoard’. It was, and remains, the biggest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold (4 kg) and silver (1.7 kg) ever discovered and comprised of more than 4000 fragments that equated to over 600 discrete objects and larger pieces. The Staffordshire Hoard is co-owned by Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent City Councils and is cared for on behalf of the nation by Birmingham Museums Trust and The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. Over the intervening years, most of the larger and recognisably important pieces have now been identified and catalogued. We now also know an exceptional amount about their probable methods of manufacture, artistic styles, date, and function. This paper focuses on what is now known to be one of the most fragmented yet magnificent of its objects, a Helmet that has been declared as being ‘fit for a king’, but which was found scattered into well over 1000 disparate fragments. Fragments that are now considered to make up around one-third of the Hoard’s total of finds and compose this single high-status Golden Helmet. Too damaged and incomplete to be re-joined or displayed in a form that delivers to the casual observer a true sense of the majesty of the original. Thus, the museums responsible for the collection commissioned an experimental reconstruction project to create two of the helmets for display in their shared Hoard collections.
Keywords Staffordshire Hoard . Anglo-Saxon . Gold . Silver . Helmet . Reconstruction . Goldsmithing . Artisanal . Digital . Technology

Item Type: Article
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-021-00297-2
Dates:
DateEvent
25 May 2021Accepted
14 June 2021Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords: Staffordshire Hoard Anglo-Saxon Gold Silver Helmet Reconstruction Goldsmithing Artisanal Digital Technology
Subjects: CAH10 - engineering and technology > CAH10-03 - materials and technology > CAH10-03-07 - materials science
CAH10 - engineering and technology > CAH10-01 - engineering > CAH10-01-01 - engineering (non-specific)
CAH10 - engineering and technology > CAH10-01 - engineering > CAH10-01-03 - production and manufacturing engineering
CAH10 - engineering and technology > CAH10-03 - materials and technology > CAH10-03-02 - materials technology
CAH10 - engineering and technology > CAH10-03 - materials and technology > CAH10-03-06 - others in technology
CAH20 - historical, philosophical and religious studies > CAH20-01 - history and archaeology > CAH20-01-01 - history
CAH20 - historical, philosophical and religious studies > CAH20-01 - history and archaeology > CAH20-01-03 - archaeology
CAH25 - design, and creative and performing arts > CAH25-01 - creative arts and design > CAH25-01-05 - others in creative arts and design
Divisions: Faculty of Arts, Design and Media > Birmingham Institute of Jewellery, Fashion & Textiles > Birmingham School of Jewellery
Depositing User: Frank Cooper
Date Deposited: 17 Jun 2021 14:04
Last Modified: 12 Jan 2022 17:20
URI: https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/11785

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