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Description: | Medieval belt hook fragment; Zoomorphic cast copper alloy fragment from a probable sword belt hook. This fragment has the terminal end of the fitting which turns down at right angles and then breaks off at the apex of a curve which formed the loop to hang the sword from. The area where the fitting was attached to the belt would also be on the section which is now missing. The inner surfaces are all flat and undecorated while the outer surfaces are curved (giving a D-shaped cross section) and have cast decoration. The terminal section is decorated as an animal head with an indent around the end for the mouth, a long nose section running along the head and incised lines to suggest eyes, eyebrows and ears. The back of the vertical section of the bar has diagonal bands running across it. The surface is a dark, blackish-green colour with many areas of pitting and dark red-orange copper oxide corrosion.The dating of this fragment is somewhat problematic. The features of the animal head terminal look Romanesque, suggesting a 12th century date. This has been tentatively confirmed by Kevin Leahy, however he qualifies this with the comment that the condition and feel of the metal do not seem quite in keeping with that dating and the object may actually be much more recent, possibly dating to the early post medieval period instead.Length (top of head to break) 41.3mm, length (back of neck to end of snout) 18.6mm, width (side to side of the head) 9.4mm, thickness 7.1mm, weight 21.16gRef: There are other examples of similar fittings recorded on the database, many of which are more complete and give a better idea of the original form of the objects. See, for instance, BH-4A9D88.
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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