460-480 AD. An almandine decorated gilt dagger mount, comprising a fragment of the upper hilt of the original weapon and a rectangular pommel with roundels on the four corners, hole for the insertion of a precious stone in the centre. See Steue, H., 'Herrschaft von der Höhe, vom mobilen Söldnertrupp zur Residenz auf Repraesentativiten Bergkuppern' in Die Alamannen, Stuttgart, 2001, pp.149-162; Lebedinsky, I., Armes et guerriers barbares au temps des grandes invasions, Paris, 2001; Périn, P. and Kazanski, M., La tombe de Childéric, le Danube et la Méditerranée in Villes et campagnes en Neustrie, (Europe médiévale, 8) Montagnac, 2007, pp. 29-38.8.05 grams, 25mm (1"). Property of a West Essex gentleman; formerly in a 1980s private collection. Elements of the item offered here find clear and striking parallels with the cloisonne elements of the belt, weapons and personal-fittings discovered in the grave of King Childeric, and other graves of Frankish and Alemannic warriors. The typology of these weapons was derived from the late Roman semispatha of Germanic origin, widely used by the Roman soldiers of the period. [No Reserve]