Sutri Treasure

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Sutri Treasure
300px Part of the Sutri Treasure displayed in the British Museum
Material Gold and precious stones
Created 6th-7th Centuries AD
Period/culture Lombardic
Present location British Museum
Identification 1887,0108,3-9

The Sutri Treasure is an important Lombardic hoard found at Sutri, Italy in the late nineteenth century that is currently in the collections of the British Museum in London.[1]

Discovery

The rich grave group was found in 1878 near the town of Sutri in the province of Viterbo, central Italy. Dating to the 6th-7th centuries AD, the treasure was buried at a time of conflict between the Lombards and the Byzantine Empire. Nine years after its discovery, the hoard was purchased by the British Museum, where it resides to this day.[2]

Description

Given the large number of prestigious items in the treasure, it probably belonged to a noble lady of high rank from the Lombardic court. It includes a blue glass drinking horn, two greenish-blue small amphoras, a gilded fan-shaped silver brooch, a gold and garnet encrusted S-shaped brooch, a simple gold cross and a pair of earrings with triple pendants. A number of other items (including a pin, beads, coins, another drinking horn and a third brooch) were not purchased by the museum at the time; their current whereabouts is unknown.

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

  • S. Marzinzik, Masterpieces: Early Medieval Art (London, British Museum Press, 2013)
  • T.W. Potter and A.C. King, Excavations at the Mola di Mon (British School at Rome London in association with the British Museum, 1997)