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Description: | Cast copper alloy harness mount of probable 14th-century date. The front of the mount is sub-triangular (shield-shaped) in plan and sub-rectangular in cross-section. It measures 20.2mm in length, 16.5mm in width, and it is 3.3mm thick. It weighs 7.94 grams. The edges of the shield are slightly bevelled. The reverse of the shield has an integrally moulded spike, which is sub-rectangular in plan and section. It measures 17.4mm in length, 5.7mm in width and is 5mm thick. This spike tapers along most of its length but flares slightly at the terminal, which is also misshapen. The engraved and enamelled design on the front of the shield is broadly cruciform in shape. Each axis of the cross is formed either from a group of three feathers bound together at the base or an expanded fleur-de-lis. The definition of this design is lost due to corrosion and damage, hence the uncertainty of the description. Small traces of an enamel-like substance (crystalline and glassy) adheres to part of the engraved design. There are two different colours of enamel substance, a light green and a mid to pale brown, neither of which are likely to have been the original colour. Instead it is likely that the enamel has either degraded into these colours or been affected by corrosion or the depositional environment. The harness mount has a mid brown even patina with patches of light green inactive corrosion on all surfaces. It has also been abraded in the soil, hence its slightly asymmetrical appearance. Similar shield-shaped horse-harness pendants have been dated to the middle of the medieval period, specifically the 14th century (Griffiths: 1986: Horse Harness Pendants. Finds Research Group Data Sheet 5).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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Cast copper alloy enamelled heraldic…
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