MEROVINGIAN FRANKISH SILVER-GILT BROOCH IN THE FORM OF A HORSE WITH GARNET INLAY Ca. AD 600 - 700. A silver-gilt brooch plate depicting a mythological quadruped rendered in profile. The body is compact and arched, and the head terminates in a long snout. The eye is inlaid with a circular red garnet. Raised linear ridges accentuate the neck and cranial features. The reverse contains the remains of the pin mechanism. For similar see: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Object Number: 17.192.186.; K. Reynolds Brown,The Migration Art, 1995, 300 - 800 AD, f. 26, p. 28 Size: 23mm x 15mm; Weight: 4g Provenance: London collection; Ex. Mayfair collection, acquired from an Ancient Art gallery; formerly acquired on the London art market pre-2000. Reviewed by Sami Fortune, an ancient jewellery specialist.