| Artres Treasure | |
|---|---|
 Part of the Artres Treasure displayed in the British Museum | |
| Material | Gold and precious stones |
| Created | 6th Centuries AD |
| Period/culture | Merovingian |
| Present location | British Museum |
| Identification | 1897 AF.514a-b; AF.515; AF.518; AF.524-525; AF.3328; |
TheArtres Treasure is an importantMerovingian hoard found atArtres, northernFrance in the nineteenth century. Most of the treasure is now in the collection of theBritish Museum inLondon.[1]
The rich grave group was found in 1855 under a small mound near the town of Artres inPas-de-Calais, northern France. Dating to the middle of the 6th Century AD, it probably belong to an affluent and powerfulFrankish woman. Most of the hoard was purchased by the curator and philanthropistAugustus Wollaston Franks, who bequeathed it to the British Museum in 1897.[2] It has recently been shown that a gold disk pendant (now in theAshmolean Museum) was also part of the hoard.
The Artres Treasure for the most part includes luxuriousjewellery fashionable at theFrankish court. It is composed of two large gilded silver fan-shapedbrooches, a pair of small gold and garnet encrusted brooches in the shape of a bird, a pair of matching earrings, a crystal ballpendant and a small silver bracelet. Other items in the hoard included a finger ring and a large crystal ball; the whereabouts of these objects are unknown.