9th-12th century AD. An oval-shaped bronze mount with domed profile, bearing a stylised lion-like mask in low relief, with gaping jaw, wrinkled nose, small eyes, ears, plumed headdress, hatched texture to the fur, pricked texture to the eyes and ribbing to the plumes. See similar style beast-lion masks in Franceschi, G., Jorn, A. & Magnus, B., Bird, Beast and Man in Nordic Iron Age Art, Koln, 2005, figs.130, 131, 133, 135, 137. 8.76 grams, 29mm (1"). Property of an East Sussex, UK, teacher; previously in a Dorset, UK, collection since the 1990s. The lively 'gripping beast' was a new motif appearing in Viking art. It marked the beginning of the Viking Age, when plant motifs such as acanthus and vines were filled with birds and animals, disseminated from Nordic metalworkers via the Viking raids on churches and monasteries. [No Reserve] Condition Report Fine condition.