A beautifully detailed golden horse’s head which not been seen in public for 1400 years is part of an upcoming exhibition of about 80 artifacts from the biggest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found.The piece forms part of the so-called Staffordshire Hoard, a 1500-piece collection of treasure, crafted from mostly gold, and some silver.
The solid gold horse is about two inches tall and covered with an intricate filigree pattern. It is in almost perfect condition. Most of the items in the collection appear to date from the 7th century although it is not yet known when the hoard was buried.
I have to say that I find ancient gold artifacts like this one enormously attractive. When my daughter and I visit museums we make a bee line for ancient gold and something of this quality would have us drooling outside the case.
It goes on display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent between 13 February and 7 March.
Unbelievably, this cache of artifacts was only discovered in 2009 so there is still hope that more is out there!