| Fuller Brooch | |
|---|---|
 The Fuller Brooch as displayed in theBritish Museum | |
| Material | Silver and niello |
| Size | 11.4 cm in diameter |
| Created | Late 9th Century AD |
| Present location | British Museum,London |
| Registration | M&ME 1952,0404.1 |
TheFuller Brooch is anAnglo-Saxon silver andniellobrooch dated to the late 9th century, which is now in theBritish Museum, where it is normally on display in Room 41.[1] The elegance of the engraved decoration depicting the Five Senses, highlighted by being filled withniello, makes it one of the most highly regarded pieces ofAnglo-Saxon art.
The brooch is a large disc made of hammered sheetsilver inlaid with blackniello and with a diameter of 114 mm (4.5 in). Its centre roundel is decorated with personifications of thefive senses. In the centre is Sight with large staring ovaleyes, surrounded by the other four senses, each in his own compartment. Taste is in the upper left, Smell is in the upper right, Touch is in the lower right, and Hearing is in the lower left.[2]Taste has a hand in his mouth.Smell's hands are behind his back, and he stands between two tall plants.Touch rubs his hands together.Hearing holds his hand to his ear. This is the earliest known representation of the five senses. The outer border consists of 16 small medallions decorated with human, bird, animal and plant motifs.[3]
Stylistically it is "in a very late version of theTrewhiddle style".[4] After the discovery of theStrickland Brooch, one of the closest parallels to the Fuller Brooch, also 9th century and in the British Museum, additional research determined that the niello used in the Fuller Brooch was mainlysilver sulphide, a type that went out of use later in themedieval period, in itself an argument against it being a modern forgery.[5] The niello technique may indicate that the brooch was made by metalworkers ofKing Alfred the Great's court.[6]
The brooch has survived in excellent condition, although the pin and its attachments have been removed, and the top of the brooch has been perforated for suspension, and it may be the only surviving piece of secular Anglo-Saxon metalwork to remain unburied since its creation. It was thought to be afake by SirCharles Hercules Read, Keeper of British and Medieval Antiquities of the British Museum, because of its excellent condition. He advised theAshmolean Museum in Oxford which had been lent the brooch, to take it off display. It was then bought by Captain A. W. F. Fuller for the price of the silver. In 1952 Capt. Fuller donated the brooch to the British Museum on the condition that it henceforth be called the Fuller Brooch.[7][8][9]
The brooch's history (as recounted byBruce-Mitford) is that it was bought from a London bric-à-brac dealer by an unnamed man who did not know its history, he passed it to Sir Charles Robinson who published it in 'The Antiquary'. A few years later Mr. E. Hockliffe, the son-in-law of Sir Charles Robinson, offered the brooch as a loan to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.E. T. Leeds, then an assistant at the museum, persuaded the then keeperD. G. Hogarth to accept the loan. On the advice of the then Keeper of British and Medieval Antiquities at the British Museum (Sir Hercules Read, P.S.A.) and his assistant keeper (R. A. Smith) the brooch was pronounced a fake and withdrawn from exhibition with the approval of the Ashmolean Museum's technical specialist, W. H. Young. The brooch was eventually purchased by Capt. A. W. F. Fuller and, apart from occasional mentions (e.g. by SirAlfred Clapham), was not thought of seriously until the Strickland brooch (registration no. 1949,0702.1) was brought to the British Museum. On the advice ofSir Thomas Kendrick the Fuller brooch was traced by Mr. Bruce-Mitford and after laboratory examination it was acquired by the British Museum.