Rare Iron Age harness brooch at risk of leaving the UK
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-10)

An export bar has been placed on a Sutton Scotney Iron Age brooch that is at risk of leaving the United Kingdom

- The harness brooch has been valued at £18,500
- The export bar is to allow time for a UK museum, gallery or institution to acquire the brooch
An export bar has been placed on an Iron Age harness brooch, which was discovered near Sutton Scotney in Hampshire.

The brooch is one of only ten such brooches known to have survived for two millennia in the ground and is thought to be a component of the harness from a horse drawn vehicle designed to connect the straps to fabric on the horse’s back.

Unusually the brooch includes both a hinged pin and strap loops on the back, a combination not found on brooches worn by people at this time. Its decoration with intricate curved shapes and basket weave texture links it with designs found on other metal objects from that time found in Britain and across Europe.

It exhibits the best casting achievable in the pre-mechanised period, and is in good condition in comparison to similar brooches from the period, the majority of which are incomplete.

The brooch was discovered in Sutton Scotney, Hampshire and provides valuable new evidence for the use of horse-drawn vehicles in the nearby Iron Age hillforts towards the end of the first millennium BC.

Arts Minister Sir Chris Bryant said:

“This harness brooch, dating back to the Iron Age, is a rare artefact that is of major importance to the local history of Hampshire.

“I hope by placing an export bar on this rare brooch, it will continue to benefit the UK public and researchers in the study of the horse harness, chariotry, and crafting of metalwork, enriching our understanding of our country’s history.”

Committee member, Tim Pestell said:

“For Britons in the late Iron Age, horsemanship and charioteering were prized skills both socially and in warfare, as noted by the Roman invaders. This pride led people to decorate their horses with ornate tack and fittings, one of the rarest forms being so-called horse brooches of which only ten are known in Britain, most of them fragmentary.

“With its exceptional preservation, intriguing basket-weave pattern and outstanding aesthetic design, the Sutton Scotney Brooch is a remarkable survival. Now a bar has been placed upon its export, I hope that a museum will be able to acquire this two-thousand-year-old testament to the British love of horses for public benefit.”

The Minister’s decision follows the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-collections-and-cultural-property/reviewing-committee-0). The Committee made its recommendation on the basis that the brooch met the first, second, and third Waverley criteria for its outstanding connection with our history and national life, its outstanding aesthetic importance, and its outstanding significance to the study of the horse harness, chariotry, the crafting of metalwork and textiles.

The decision on the export licence application for the brooch will be deferred for a period ending on 9th March 2025 inclusive. At the end of the first deferral period owners will have a consideration period of 15 Business Days to consider any offer(s) to purchase the brooch at the recommended price of £18,500 (plus VAT of £3,700 which can be reclaimed by an eligible institution). The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for three months.

Offers from public bodies for less than the recommended price through the private treaty sale arrangements, where appropriate, may also be considered by the Minister. Such purchases frequently offer substantial financial benefit to a public institution wishing to acquire the item.

Notes to editors:
- Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing the brooch should contact the RCEWA on xx-xxxx-xxxx or xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).
- Details of the brooch are as follows: A copper alloy harness brooch, also known as a horse brooch or pony brooch, dating from the Late Iron Age in southern Britain. Being an object from the later prehistoric period, the maker and precise date of manufacture are unknown but an approximate date range of c.50 BC to AD 100 is estimated from comparison to finds from known archaeological contexts. This object is in excellent condition. Length: 68.9mm; Height: 8.3mm; Width: 55.2mm; Weight 31.31g.
- Provenance: Found at Sutton Scotney, Hampshire. Recorded on Portable Antiquity Scheme no.SUR-738A17. Lot 568, Ancient Coins and Antiquities Auction, 5 December 2023. Noonans Auctions.
- The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by Arts Council England (ACE), which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.