BYZANTINE BRONZE BELT BUCKLE Ca. AD 600 - 800. A belt buckle with a broad, contoured plate, decorated in relief with a leaping lion shown in profile, flanked by eight-pointed crosses or rosettes. A double border of raised lines encloses the scene, with a series of crescent shapes framing the shorter edge. The loop and tongue are joined to the plate by a hinge mechanism. For similar see: C. Eger, Byzantine Dress Accessories in North Africa: Koiné and Regionality, fig. 11. Size: 31.6mm x 83mm; Weight: 45g Provenance: Private UK collection; previously acquired on the Belgian art market in the 1990s.