The Forsbrook Pendant by Richard Halliwell
Introduction
This Anglo-Saxon pendant was found in Forsbrook, Staffordshire, by a labourer
who was levelling a hedge bank (V.C.H. I, 212). It came into the possession
of a 'young lady' who took it to Isaac Whitehurst of Swan Bank, Congleton.
Whitehurst wrote to Augustus N. Feaubes at the British Museum on June 28th,
1879. The letter explained that the lady would accept £15 for the pendant
if the sale included a spade half guinea. He claimed that she wanted this
'just as a memento of the old curiosity'. Was it his commission? The British
Museum receipt, also dated June 28th, is for £15, so the terms of the
sale were obviously agreed.
The pendant is currently on display at the British Museum in the Department
of Medieval and Later Antiquities, accession number M&LA 1879.7-14.1.
In 1977, Stoke-on-Trent Museum and Art Gallery commissioned the making of
a replica, which is on display in the Archaeology gallery of the museum, accession
number K36.1977.
Description
The pendant, 28mm in diameter, is based on a gold solidus of Valentinian
II (A.D. 375-392); the obverse side of the coin is visible. It is surrounded
by a setting of garnets and blue glass, backed by cross-hatched gold foil
which enhances the colours of the inserts. These are in 51 cloisons (cells)
of straw-coloured gold in a pattern of pitch-fork design. The cloisons are
made from strips of gold bent into suitable shapes and soldered to the plain
surface. The garnets and glass are cut to fit the cloisons. Some of the settings
are missing.
The way in which the pattern is altered at the top of the pendant forms a
zoomorphic double-headed creature (Jessop 1974, 52). The 'stumpy open-jawed
heads are confronted jaw-to-jaw under the cloisonne suspension loop' (Speake
1970, 7).
The settings of the creatures' large eyes have been lost but the triangular
clue cells between the jaws remain.
The cloisons of the cylindrical suspension loop are arranged in a pattern
of two rows of alternate-sized rectangles separated by a central row of six
interlocking L-shaped garnets.
Around the rim of the pendant are two strands of beaded wire with a central
strand of plain wire. These wires terminate in a pair of open-jawed animal
heads, opposed one on either side of the suspension loop.
Materials
The coin is level with the face of the pendant, and the damage that appears
to have been done when the coin was inserted suggests that the setting was
not necessarily made for this particular coin. The reverse af the coin is
hidden by a plain gold plate.
Gold. Small quantities of gold were probably mined in Britain in the Anglo-Saxon
period, but this was supplemented by imports and re-use of the metal. Gold
was used more for jewellery in the late 6th to early 7th centuries, gradually
giving way to silver towards the end of the 8th century.
Garnet. Garnet was a popular choice of semiprecious stone for the Anglo-Saxon
craftsman. It would be split, and then cut and shaped by a wheel or by flaking.
Some Anglo-Saxon jewellery uses a fine red glass, presumably as a cheaper
alternative to garnet. The source of the garnets used in the Forsbrook Pendant
is probably India, and the supply would have relied on trade routes.
Blue Glass. Blue glass or paste was used as a contrast to the red garnet.
The earlier view that lapis
lazuli was used (Speake 1970, 6) has been corrected (Jessop 1974, 25).
History
The history of the pendant can be divided into that of the solidus, Valentinian II and the completed pendant.
The Solidus. The solidus was introduced by Con-stantine as part of
the Roman Imperial Coinage, in an effort to restore the gold coinage. It weighed
about 4.55gms. and became successful because its value could be relied on.
The gold was often acquired as a result of the sequestration of pagan treasures
of the Empire. It became the standard gold coin throughout the late Roman
period.
Valentinian II. The historical setting of the period of Valentinian
II relies on several sources which are patchy .in their coverage and possibly
biased or incorrect in their comments. A rough summary can be compiled as
follows:
Valentinian I died in 375 due to a fit of apoplexy caused by the behaviour
of some barbarian envoys.
The throne of the Western Empire passed to his elder son Gratian, and Valentinian
II, who was four years old, shared power nominally. Gratian was killed during
a rebellion of the army, and their leader, Magnus Maximus, controlled Britain,
Gaul and Spain. Valentinian II held power in Italy until Maximus invaded the
country in 387. Valentinian sought refuge in the Eastern Empire and in 388,
the Eastern Emperor, Theodosius, defeated Maximus at Aquileia. The death of
Valentinian II in suspicious circumstances during 392 led to more imperial
usurpation which Theodosius could not halt until 394
The Pendant. The history of the pendant has to bemainly conjecture but its design links it with other cloisonne objects, especially those from the Sutton Hoo ship burial which is dated to the early- to mid-7th century. Its general design has parallels in the Bacton pendant and Wilton cross, both found in Norfolk, which use a solidus as the centre surrounded by garnet cloisons. Much of the cloisonne jewellery known in this country has been found in Kent and it is possible that the kingdom was a centre for this craft.
Local Significance The pendant was found well away from other finds
of Anglo-Saxon date with the possible exception of a burial which was found
at Barlaston. There are also known Anglian concentrations in the north-east
Staffordshire Peak District (burials) and in the Trent Valley (burials and
settlement).
The area relevant to the find-spot of the pendant was part of Mercia's expansion
in the 7th-8th centuries. This expansion was due largely to King Penda who
dominated most of the other kingdoms and established a strong principality
until he was defeated and killed in 655. His successors maintained superiority
until the early 9th century.
Place-name and other evidence suggests that perhaps most of the Staffordshire
area was settled from the 7th century onwards, but lack of material evidence
ensures that the Forsbrook pendant and Barlaston burial deserve special attention.
Increased archaeological fieldwork and documentary research would be necessary
to illuminate further the events of this period
Contemporary Significance The Forsbrook pendant was based on a coin
that was about two hundred years old when it was used as thecentre-piece for
an Anglo-Saxon cloisonne pendant. The pagan Anglo-Saxon communities did not
use currency until they became accustomed to this method of exchange from
Merovingian society. The role of Roman coins was as ornaments, weights, gaming
counters and collectors' pieces.
As the Forsbrook pendant was a chance find, it is necessary to consider other
examples of Roman coins in an Anglo-Saxon context to analyse their association
with other artefacts. Typical of those found as grave goods is the example
at Camerton, Somerset, where a coin of Constantine had 'probably been kept
in a receptacle with a boar tusk, a flint scraper, a cowrie shell and a lump
of chalk cut into a heart shape' (Meaney 1981, 216). Such association suggests
the role of the coin as an ornament or charm, but their exact purpose is unclear.
Meaney suggests (ibid, 220) their use as 'anti-Evil Eye' amulets.
The enhancement of the Forsbrook pendant by its garnet setting may have been
with the purpose of being more effective in drawing the first, most virulent
glance of the Evil Eye and distracting by dazzling the antagonist. People
with wealth considered themselves more vulnerable to the Evil Eye as they
would attract the most envy (ibid, 30).
The use of garnet could be associated with the belief that this stone was
powerful against witchcraft and demons, and the circular design to attract
the power of a ring. The use of the double-headed creature in the design draws
on a symbolic tradition which has its roots in Celtic art and was used in
the medieval period to depict the amphisbaena, the double-headed dragon.
However, while it is important to look at the possible psychological significance
of the pendant, there is no absolute need to assume that it was worn for any
other reason than its beauty and utility. This was an ornament which would
have reflected quite clearly the prestige and social standing of the wearer
and may have been even more highly valued for its inclusion of an "antique".
Bibliography.
Jessup, R. 1974 Anglo-Saxon Jewellery. Shire Publications Ltd.
Meaney, A.L. 1981 Anglo-Saxon Amulets and Curing Stones. British Archaeological
Reports, British Series 96.
Ozanne, A. 1962-3 The Peak Dwellers', Medieval Archaeology 6-7, 15-52.
Speake, G. 1970 'A Seventh-century Coin Pendant from Bacton', Medieval Archaeology
14, 1-16.
Wilson, D.M. 1976 The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon
England. Cambridge University Press.
Victoria County History, Staffordshire, Vol. I 1908.