|
Date: |
|
Description: | A very worn and broken cast copper-alloy medieval harness pendant. The suspension loop with circular perforation is short. Characteristically, it is perpendicular to the body of the pendant. The body is oval with three projecting semi-circles; a fourth is missing following an old break. Within the extant semi-circular projections are convex bosses. There is an off-centre perforation through the body of the pendant, emerging on the obverse face. The body is considerably worn and abraded. Regarding the obverse face, the lower right corner has been broken following an old, diagonal break. The corner is extant but appears to have a thicker, tinned reverse unlike the main body of the pendant which has a characteristic dark green patina. The two bosses on the left of the obverse have been bent upwards following old damage. There are traces of gilding on the obverse of the pendant, especially on the suspension loop between the loop itself and the body of the pendant. On the reverse there is a patch of white correction fluid presumably applied by the finder. In its form this harness pendant appears to be relatively rare and early. Gilded examples can be found illustrated in Ashley (2002, 6; refs. 9-12). These examples have stamped decoration in the form of small circles, traces of which can be seen on this artefact. Two of them (11 and 12) feature circular perforations, one (12) featuring a rivet, although their purpose is not apparently obvious. The most common device found on the Ashley examples is a star radiating from a central boss (see for example the Portable Antiquities Scheme database, ref.: SF11102), the significance of which Ashley (2002, 7) explores. However, the decoration on this pendant appears to parallel the latticework of lozenges found on pendant 9 (Ashley 2002, 6), although the Ashley example is smaller and lacks any perforations. Ashley attributes a 12th- or early 13th-century date to these 'early' harness pendants.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
|