This ensemble of champlevé-enamel plaques, remarkable for their vivid colors and exuberant presentation of classical motifs, attests to the skills of artists working in the outer reaches of the Roman Empire in the centuries of its greatest extent. The technique had long been a specialty of Celtic metalworkers, and it continued to develop independently of the great cities of the empire. Early enamels have been found in Britain, the northern Caucasus, southern Russia, and Syria, with the greatest concentration in Belgium and the Rhineland. Rome, a center of glassmaking, knew little of the art form. Indeed, one writer attached to the imperial court in the early third century marveled at the exotic ornaments fashioned with hardened colors by the "barbarians of the outer sea."

The precise function of this group is uncertain. The backs of nine plaques have projecting tangs that vary in their shape, size, and orientation. Short chains hanging from the sides distinguish one pair, while another pair sits atop a metal axle attached to wheel-like disks (bottom center). The quantity and hardware of the plaques suggest that they might have decorated a chariot or cart; such vehicles were often splendidly ornamented in the Roman world.