Magia ornamentu / Galeria / Belt fitting with a Boar’s head

Belt fitting with a Boar’s head
Chronology:
Early Middle Ages, 8th c. AD
Location:
Liski, Lubelskie, Poland; accidental find
Dimensions:
7.9 cm (length), 3.8 cm (height), 0.6 cm (thickness)
Rev. Stanisław Staszic Museum in Hrubieszów

This bronze fitting adorned the tip of a narrow belt. It has a decorative finish on both sides. More than half of the front side is occupied by the profile of a wild boar’s head. The animal’s nostrils and mouth are discernible, along with a concave cheek and an almond-shaped horizontal eye. Next to the boar’s head, there are symmetrical plant motifs. The back side of the fitting is entirely covered by a convex plant ornament split into two horizontal belts. Its form and embellishment combining zoomorphic and plant elements suggest a late Avar origin. The Avars were a nomadic people who came to Europe in the mid-6th century AD and settled in the Pannonian Basin. Similar fittings can still be found there in large numbers.