10th-11th century AD. A gilt-bronze strap end with beast facing backwards, probably a hunting dog, executed in openwork on a D-shaped mount with thick border, two piercings to the plate and simple hinge to the lower edge. Cf. the 11th century openwork mount from St. Albans and the openwork strap ends from Winchester in Webster, L & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600- 900, London, 1991, p.96, 111. 8.44 grams, 26mm (1"). Property of an Essex gentleman; formerly from an old English collection.