Production, Distribution, and Use of Standard and ‘Rogue’ Migration Period Gold Bracteates

Abstract

Studies of Migration Period gold bracteates often have focused on the iconography of these fascinating yet enigmatic objects. An enduring secondary interest has been the attempt to understand the technology by which they were produced. In this essay, I examine how three approaches—close observation of bracteates and the dies from which they were struck, modern experiments to reproduce early medieval goldsmiths’ techniques, and analysis of geographic patterns of the distribution of bracteate find places—can help us comprehend more about how and where bracteates were made. While most bracteates can be grouped according to iconographic and stylistic features, some examples depart considerably from typical bracteate iconographic choices or display unusual details produced by unconventional techniques. The term ‘rogue’ is introduced by the author to refer to such bracteates, and with the proposal that some of these rogue pieces may have been fabricated by smiths who did not have access to metal dies or did not have the ability to make beaded edge wire or sturdy suspension loops. In addition, it is noted that many pieces that iconographically deviate from established family groups have been discovered in locations geographically peripheral to other members of their iconographic groups, and in some cases, irregular iconography and atypical techniques intersect.