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Description: | Small 14th-century book clasp made from cast copper alloy, with traces of gilding still remaining on the surface. It consists of a flat hollow attachment end, rectangular with a decoratively shaped open edge to take the leather strap. In the centre of this edge is a small rivet hole. This part is decorated with an incised flower in a rectangular border. Opposite the shaped open end is a lozenge-shaped hollow box, decorated with a star and with a small circular hole on the reverse. At the other end of the lozenge-shaped box is a projection which has a perforation through it from side to side. It is thought that the hole would have fitted over a peg on the opposite cover of the book, and the loop may have held a cord to help pull the clasp off the peg. A parallel can be seen on the PAS database at HAMP-C0F9E7. They are dated by Fingerlin (1971) to the second half of the 14th century.
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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