The Strickland Brooch

The history of this elaborate brooch is mysterious. It is named after the Strickland family of Yorkshire and may have belonged to Sir William Strickland, a keen antiquities collector in the nineteenth century. The brooch was bought by an American at auction in 1949 but was refused an export licence, and was then purchased by the British Museum.

The brooch is notable for its extensive decoration with gold at a time when this metal was scarce and highly prized. Gold panels enrich a lively pattern of dog-like beasts deeply carved into the metal. These creatures fill a quatrefoil where the lobes are divided by animal heads seen from above. In the centre is a cross motif, its four arms each ending in another animal head. Domed silver bosses punctuate the design.

The brooch is further enhanced by decorative techniques that reveal the Anglo-Saxons