There is little reason to doubt that jewellery was among the foremost of the arts which Alfred is known to have encouraged; indeed, his interest in such work is asserted by a well-sustained tradition. And if the world-famed jewel to be described is, as seems probable, to be associated with Alfred of Wessex, he must then have personally supervised the production of other contemporary jewels. The Alfred jewel, the finest example left of Anglo-Saxon craftsmanship, and the most famous of all English jewels, is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. It was found in 1693 at Newton (or Petherton) Park, three miles from the Isle of Athelney, Somerset, whither Alfred had fled from the Danes in the year 878, and was presented to the museum in 1718 by Thomas Palmer, grandson of Colonel Nathaniel Palmer, near whose estate it was found. The jewel is 2 inches long, 1-1/5 wide, and half an inch in thickness. It somewhat resembles a battledore in shape; it is flat front and back, while the other parts of its surface are rounded. The obverse is of rock crystal, beneath which is a plaque of semi-transparent cloisonné enamel of blue, white, green, and brown, representing the figure of a man. Upon the reverse is an engraved gold plate. The smaller end of the oval is prolonged into the form of a boar's head, from the snout of which projects a hollow socket. Around the sloping sides of the jewel, from left to right, runs the legend AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN (_Alfred ordered me to be made_), in gold letters, exquisitely chiselled in open-work upon the band which encircles the enamel and its crystal covering. The whole of the goldwork is beautifully executed in filigree and granulation (Pl. XIII, 1, 2). [Illustration: _PLATE XIII_ LATE ANGLO-SAXON JEWELLERY (7TH-9TH CENTURIES)] There is considerable doubt as to the actual use of this precious jewel. Professor Earle has placed it among the category of personal ornaments, and holds that it was executed under the personal supervision of Alfred the Great, and formed the central ornament of his helmet or crown.[20] The enamelled figure is probably intended for that of Christ, represented, as is frequently done in early ecclesiastical art, holding two sceptres. The gold setting of the jewel, it is generally agreed, was made in England, and in the opinion of many the enamel is of native origin.[21] [20] _The Alfred Jewel_, p. 45. 1901. Others consider that the jewel was the head of a book-marker or pointer. [21] M. Molinier (_Histoire générale des arts appliqués à l'industrie_, IV, p. 93) is of the opinion that the enamel is English, and not, as some hold, of Byzantine origin. See also _Victoria County History of Somerset_, I, p. 376. 1906.