Ancient Coins and Antiquities

Celtic, La Tene bronze horse harness brooch, 1st century BC, 71mm x 57mm; flat openwork lyre loop design with a decoration consisting of inscribed lines of curvilinear motifs with basket-hatching filling the field; conjoined petals within incised circles on each side, above in the centre are two circled tricornes; on the back is a catch plate and hinge with the remains of an iron pin, below in the centre is a rectangular bar for attachment. Good very fine with a smooth green patina £2,000-£3,000

found at Sutton Scotney in Hampshire

Only two brooches for a horse harness are recorded from the UK and these are both enamelled; they are cast in two pieces, with the brooch as the upper part combined with a hinged lower part (see PAS no. DENO-2BAD49; also plate 298 in Early Celtic Art by Jope).