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Description: | Cast copper alloy harness pendant of probable 14th-century (c.1250 - c.1450) date. The pendant is sub-cruciform or quatrefoil in plan and sub-rectangular in cross-section. The edges of the front face are slightly beveled and the profile of the pendant is slightly bowed (convex). On the top of the quatrefoil is an integral cast suspension loop which is set at 90 degrees to the plain of the pendant and is broken. The pendant measures 35.9mm in length, 29.2mm in width, and is 6mm thick. The pendant weighs 9.19 grams. The front face of the pendant has an elaborate cast and silvered design depicted in relief. This design shows a hunting scene consisting of three elements (described from left to right): a running stag shot with an arrow, a central tree, and a bowman. The stag (with large antlers) is depicted running from right to left and has its head thrown back. It has been shot through the neck by an (out of proportion) arrow. The central tree is crudely depicted being formed by a curvilinear vertical trunk with three small branches. Behind this tree (on the right hand side of the scene) is the standing bowman. He is shown holding a long bow in his left hand with his right hand raised beside his head - as if he had just loosed an arrow. At his side (presumably in a container) are the heads of two further arrows. The edges of the pendant are raised and also silvered. The rear of the pendant is plain and undecorated. The harness pendant is a mid green brown colour with an abraded patina that covers all surfaces. There are a number of patches of light green active powdery corrosion present, especially on the rear of the pendant and on the hunting scene. The pendant has also been slightly abraded in the soil. This abrasion has resulted in irregular asymmetrical shape. Similar quatrefoil 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). Griffiths categories these pendants as type 7 simple quatrefoils.
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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