5th century BC. A bronze pommel with part of a hilt from a dagger, taking the form of a standard with two bull or boar heads, hatched crescent to the centre. See Moscati, S. (ed.), I Celti, Milano, 1991, pp.155ff, for similar styles of craftsmanship.22.9 grams, 46mm (1 3/4"). Property of a West Essex gentleman; formerly in a 1980s private collection. The decorative zoomorphic style recalls the 'masked' bronze fibulae of the Rhine graves of the Hallstatt princes, which date to circa 500 BC. Towards the end of the Hallstatt period, the graves of the Celtic princes reflected their social position and were replete with rich funerary deposits including golden discs, Etruscan bronze vessels, chariots, drinking horns and weapons decorated with zoomorphic elements.