Early Byzantine Silver Belt Fittings with Openwork Decoration

拍品描述

6th-7th century A.D. Comprising: two strap ends with openwork decoration of bifurcated scrolls and volutes; a buckle with an arched loop and cast tongue mounted on a shield-shaped plate decorated in a similarly abstract vegetal scheme. Cf. the British Museum, London, Martynivka Hoard, registration no. 1912,0610.6; the British Museum, London, Kerch Find, Early Byzantine strap end, registration no. 1856,1004.50. 51.5 grams total, 47-89 mm (1 7/8 - 3 1/2 in.). [3] Acquired on the European art market. The high quality of execution, formal consistency, and use of silver suggest these fittings once adorned the belt of a military or aristocratic figure within a frontier or provincial context. Their design is representative of the transitional material culture of the early Byzantine world, in which classical motifs were abstracted and reinterpreted through regional aesthetic idioms. This ensemble belongs to the broader category of Early Byzantine personal dress fittings, and is closely related to the Martynivka Hoard—a group of silver artefacts discovered near Kanev (modern Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine) before 1909. Now divided between the British Museum and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, the hoard includes strap ends and buckles of closely comparable design and manufacture. While their precise cultural attribution remains debated, the prevailing scholarly consensus situates them within the orbit of Byzantine provincial production, possibly influenced by or intended for Slavic, nomadic, or client populations in the Pontic steppe region. Similar artefacts have been recovered from Kerch in Crimea, further supporting the view that such belt fittings were widely disseminated in Byzantine-controlled or influenced regions along the northern Black Sea during the 6th and 7th centuries. Their function was not merely practical; richly decorated belts of this kind were important signifiers of rank, allegiance, and imperial favour. TimeLine Auctions follows a rigorous vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists. See our website for more information.

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