On the Witham Bowl

Abstract

The only known illustrations of the lost Anglo-Saxon silver hanging-bowl from the River Witham, Lincolnshire, are those in the Society's collections, including a hitherto unknown sketch, published here for the first time. Further information concerning the bowl's pedigree, since its discovery in 1816, has also come to light, together with evidence for its survival into the twentieth century. Attention is also drawn to three recent finds of ornamental metalwork from southern Scandinavia of stylistic relevance to the bowl's internal decoration in the form of a free-standing animal.