This Late Anglo-Saxon brooch, created in the Trewhiddle style during the late 9th century, hails from the British Isles in Europe. It's a circular brooch crafted from forged sheet metal, featuring a slightly convex cross-section. The brooch is exquisitely decorated with niello inlay and features an outer openwork zone encircling a central circle, framed and divided by a wide felted border into a central rhombus surrounded by four additional lentil-shaped fields. Four of these fields intersect at points containing bosses, with a fifth one at the center, three of which conceal the rivets attaching the (now lost) pin mechanism.
The decorative design showcases personifications of the five senses within the central circle, set amidst an openwork zone filled with smaller circles containing alternating geometric motifs of animals and humans, symbolizing various aspects of Creation in a slightly asymmetrical arrangement.
The large central field prominently features the three-quarter height personification of Sight, characterized by large oval eyes. In each hand, Sight holds a drooping foliate spray with double jagged details, and above his head, there's a three-stepped leaf with triquetras on either side. Surrounding the circular field are dots of lozenges, each marked with a domed rivet, forming four lenticular panels, each depicting a full-length human figure representing one of the other senses. These figures are dressed in short jackets and belted tunics. The remaining background space is adorned with various foliage swirls and weaves.
In the upper left corner, you can see Taste, holding a mouth with one hand and a leafy stem with the other, while the profiled Smell in the upper right corner is surrounded by two plants and holds his hands behind his back. In the lower right corner, the sense of touch has his hands folded together, and in the lower left corner, Hearing appears to be in motion with a hand to his ear. The entire composition rests on a dark base.
On the reverse side, the brooch is plain, and the pin mechanism is no longer present. Two small holes at the top may have served for hanging or attachment purposes.