PREVIEW: ANCIENT COINS & ANTIQUITIES 18 JULY

Suffolk has long proved a fine source of ancient pieces, as these two lots from this auction illustrate: an Anglo Saxon 7th century bronze amulet figure and a 1st century Celtic bronze figure of a prostrate bull.

The amulet figure, which measures 5.2 cm x 1.1 cm, is moulded in the round as a male figure with a large bearded oval face. He wears a hood which is centrally parted and tapers to the back of the neck.

Three small inlaid gold discs are positioned each side of the head, while two more are inserted as eyes which are set closely together. The long nose and slit mouth are shallow features. The body is narrow with his arms folded across his midriff, while the legs are short with a penis showing. Fine with a green patina and slightly uneven surface. 

The fertility figure belongs to a small group of six found at sites along the east coast of England and could be associated with Frey, an Anglo-Saxon deity of Germanic origin representing a god of fertility and called Freyr in Norse mythology.

The British Museum has a silver gilt example with a loop at the top.

A detectorist find, the estimate is £1,000-1,200.

The bronze figure of the bull measures 3 cm x 1.8 cm x 2.3 cm high and has incised lozenge-shaped eyes with rounded horns. The body is flat underneath and hollowed out, with the front and back legs spread out and touching at the hooves. The body has two grooved straps around it indicating a ritual sacrifice. 
Recorded with the Suffolk archaeological unit in 1992, the estimate is £200-300.