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The Fuller Brooch.
Image: British Museum (click on the images to enlarge)

The Fuller Brooch is an Anglo-Saxon silver and niello brooch which dates to the late ninth-century. The brooch is a large disc made of hammered sheet silver inlaid with black niello and with a diameter of 114 mm, engraved decoration depicting the Five Senses, highlighted by being filled with niello.

In the centre roundel is a depiction of the sense of sight: a figure with prominent oval eyes holding an object that may represent two cornucopias. The figure has similarities to the figure on the Alfred Jewel, which also appears to represent sight.

The central figure is surrounded by the other four senses, each in its own setting: the sense of smell is represented by a figure with his hands behind his back, between two stylized flowers; Touch is touch one hand with the other; Hearing has one hand to his ear and the position of his right leg seems to indicate that he is dancing to music, Taste is putting something into his mouth.

The outer part of the brooch consists of a series of circles containing plant, animals, and angels(?) all depicted in a very late Trewhiddle Style.

The Fuller Brooch – the sense of sight

The Fuller Brooch
the sense of smell

The Fuller Brooch
the sense of touch

The Fuller Brooch
the sense of hearing

The Fuller Brooch
the sense of taste