Hoxne hoard and the silver tigress

In 1992, a find in Suffolk brought a buried group of late Roman valuables back into view. The Hoxne hoard had been placed in the ground in the fifth century AD. This silver tigress is one object from that much larger find. The animal once served as the handle of a large vessel. Its body curves to make a grip, with engraved stripes picked out in dark niello against the silver. Follow the stripes around the form. A useful fitting has become a small sculpture. The Museum acquired the hoard through Treasure Trove in 1994. Coins and other pieces have their own display histories, so the hoard’s name does not mean that every item is in this case. The tigress gives you a close encounter with one part of a late Roman household’s silver, shaped to be held as well as seen.