The bowl is a double-shelled cup made from 2 pieces
riveted together with dome-headed rivets and beaded collars. The surface of the bowl is decorated with a
chased repousse technique. Sometime after it was originally made the bowl was converted into a drinking vessel. The base plate of the internal bowl features 16 circular pieces of glass within a ring of
cloisons and five further rivets, of which the central is missing. The gilding on the bowl was added after the other decoration.
Outer bowl The outer shell is made from
silver-gilt, the rim once had a U-sectioned strip of ungilded silver although this has now mostly been lost. This strip was originally attached using 4 clips in the shape of animal heads although 2 of these have also been lost. the frontal gaze of some of the creatures on the bowl is a common occurrence in carvings of this type. These decorations show plants, grapes, fruit, animals and birds in both naturalistic and grotesque style. The embossed and fine-lined filigreed designs on the bowl have been compared to those of the
Wye Down pendant and the
Book of Durrow leading to it being dated in 1958 by G. Haseloff to 650–700, though this now seems too early. ==Discovery==