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Work

Alfred Jewel

Decorative and Craft Objects

The Alfred Jewel is a piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold, discovered in 1693 in North Petherton, Somerset, England. It has been dated to the late 9th century, in the reign of Alfred the Great, and is inscribed AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN, meaning Alfred ordered me made. It is now generally accepted that the jewel functioned as the handle for a pointer stick used to follow words when reading a book, and it is now one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Facts
Year Created
890 1
Dated by the source to the late 9th century, in the reign of Alfred the Great (871-899); 890 recorded as a representative year within that documented range, not a precise date.
Medium
Enamel and quartz enclosed in gold 1
Location
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 1
Classification
Genre
Decorative arts 1
Medium
Medium (category)
Metalwork and Goldwork 1
Connections

In Form

Decorative Arts, Art Forms
Source Alfred Jewel (Wikipedia)

In Genre

Decorative Arts, Art Forms
In the Other Atlases

Located In

Oxford

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.

Sources
1. Alfred Jewel (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • lead section
    It has been dated to the late 9th century, in the reign of Alfred the Great
  • Lead section, dating clause
    It has been dated to the late 9th century, in the reign of Alfred the Great
  • Lead section, first sentence
    The Alfred Jewel is a piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold.
  • Lead section, museum sentence
    is now one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford
  • Wikipedia article: work classified by its own real-world art form
  • Lead
    The Alfred Jewel is a piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold.
  • In Form: Decorative Arts, lead paragraph
    The Alfred Jewel is a piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold. It was discovered in 1693, in North Petherton, Somerset, England and is now one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean
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