Scabbard, sword / chape

Description

Scabbard chape of silver with zoomorphic terminals with glass insets for eyes, Pictish, from St Ninian's Isle, 8th century

Museum reference

X.FC 283

Collection

Archaeology

Object name

Scabbard, sword / chape

Date

8th century

Style / Culture

Pictish

Materials

Silver, Gilt, Glass

Physical description

Silver; zoomorphic terminals, the heads decorated with spirals, fluted snouts and protruding tongues, glass insets for eyes; curved band on one side with deep hatching forming multiple triangles, the other having two panels in chip-carving technique separated by a cross decorated with spirals, each panel containing a pair of interlocked animals; the crest with Greek key pattern on one side, a series of double curves and rough key pattern on the other

Collection place(s)

St Ninian's Isle, Shetland, Scotland, Northern Europe

Exhibitions

• Celts (10 Mar 2016 - 25 Sep 2016)
  National Museum of Scotland

• Celts: Art and Identity (24 Sep 2015 - 31 Jan 2016)
  British Museum

• The St Ninian's Isle Treasure (04 Jul 2008 - 13 Oct 2008)
  Shetland Museum and Archives

• 26 Treasures in the National Museum of Scotland (01 Dec 2011 - 29 Jan 2012)
  World Wide Web

Links to other web pages

Canmore Site Record

On display

national museum of scotland »
level -1 »
scotland galleries »
early people »
gods of the frontier »
y023