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Description: | A late medieval or early post-medieval (1400-1600) chape from the scabbard of a dagger. The chape is made from folded copper-alloy sheet that has been crimped and hammered at the edges to create the form. It is sub-rectangular in plan and in cross section, however, it may have originally been sub-oval, having since been flattened / crushed and abraded in the ploughsoil. The chape measures 43.1mm in length, 26.3mm width, and is 3.7mm thick, the sheet metal is 0.5mm thick. It weighs 6 grams.
The chape is roughly sub-rectangular in plan with the two long sides tapering to a broken and torn edge; the lower end is missing. One side seems to taper more than the other possibly suggesting that the dagger / knife blade had a single cutting edge. The mouth of the chape is relatively complete. There are three areas which might originally have had small rivets passed through the sheet. All of these areas are damaged / torn. It is likely that these rivets would have joined this chape to an organic scabbard. The mouth of the chape is also decorated with a neat incised geometric pattern formed from straight lines. The pattern consists of a circumferential double groove in between these horizontal lines a zig-zag pattern is present. Above this horizontal element a further pattern formed from an alternating double diagonal line extends. The upper edge of these lines has been lost in the areas of damage. The damage on the lower half of the chape has obscured further decoration. It is possible that a herringbone pattern is present; however, this may be due to filing and finishing. The entire outer surface of the chape has been further decorated with an applied surface of either silvering or tinning (most probably the later).
The body of the chape is relatively complete but has suffered from crush damage which has resulted in longitudinal and latitudinal cracking. Where the tinned (?) surface has worn off a mid green abraded patina is present. A layer of organic material, probably leather and fleece or cloth, is preserved within the folds of the chape. It is a relatively uniform consistency but under magnification (x30) seems to have a central core which has a fibrous make up. Such preservation of organic components is not uncommon in chapes of this period. | Subjects: | Chape | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Reavill, Peter - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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SCABBARD
An incomplete cast copper alloy…
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