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Description: | Incomplete 16th Century cast copper alloy sword belt fitting. The mount plate of the fitting is incomplete and has a surviving length of 39.1mm. It is 10.92mm wide and 1.92mm thick. Due to the damage, it is an uneven shape in plan, but essentially has a trifoliate terminal at one end, with the main body subrectangular but peaked to the top. It is slightly domed in section, having a flat reverse. The middle frond of the trifoliate terminal has a circular rivet hole but the rivet is missing. Two of the original three integral suspension loops (on the same plane, not transverse) survive intact. Each holds the hook that would have been riveted to the decorative hangers, which is essentially a circular sectioned shaft of metal curled around the loops, with a globular terminal at one end and a rove at the other. The front of the mount plate is decorated with an incised decoration, now much worn, but probably foliate. The reverse of the fitting is plain. Where it survives, the original surface is mid-green, with exposed surfaces light and bright green. Break edges, though not fresh, are not worn smooth, suggesting damage occurred in the more recent past. The object weighs 14.8g. There is an exact, complete parallel in Read, 2001, Metal Artefacts of Antiquity, figure 26, number 373.
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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