Byzantine Bronze Openwork Buckle

6th-8th century A.D. Comprising a D-shaped plate with openwork detailing and incised ring-and-dot motifs, rectangular loop with median couch; tongue with hooked forward edge; loop cracked. Cf. hinged-plate openwork buckle from Eski-Kermen in Menghin, W., The Merovingian Period. Europe Without Borders, Berlin, 2007, item I.6.1.1. 19.5 grams, 55 mm (2 1/8 in.). [No Reserve]

Acquired from Trinity Antiques, UK, before 2009. Property of a Bedfordshire, UK, private collector. Accompanied by an illustrated collector's identification tag.