File:Early medieval chip carved and gilt mount or buckle plate (FindID 198810).jpg

English: Early-medieval copper-alloy rectilinear mount, probably from horse harness. It has chip-carved gilded Style I decoration dating it to the early Anglo-Saxon period, 6th century AD. The mount is rectangular with a single rivet in the centre near one end. The other end of the mount is broken away suggesting that it was originally part of a larger object. The decoration is in a single panel which follows the rectangular shape of the mount. The Style I zoomorphic design suggests a crouching beast facing right with a curled tail at the far left, a segmented body along the top and both legs lying at its side, pointing forwards. The area where the head should be is rather worn and unclear so this interpretation of the design is by no means certain! This object is similar to long rectangular noseband mounts from early Anglo-Saxon bridles (e.g. NCL-8C56A8, SOMDOR-305381 and IOW- B0F5D2; see Fern 2005, fig. 5.18) but does not have the shaped projections at either end that these generally have. In this it can be compared with HAMP-929D82 and contrasted with wider, more nearly square belt-mounts decorated with Style I ornament. Length 32.7mm, width 14.2mm, thickness 3.1mm, weight 7.25g