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Description: | An incomplete cast or sheet copper alloy book clasp of Post-Medieval date (c. AD 1500 - c. AD 1650). Length: 46.9mm; width: 15.0mm and 1.2mm thick. Weight: 3.27g.The clasp is the upper plate of two plates that would have been fastened to a leather strap that held the book shut. The lower plate is missing. The clasp is basically sub-rectangular in plan and flares out at one end (the attachment end) to form a 'fish-tail' shape that has a cusped edge. One of the corners of the fish-tail is missing due to an old break. At this end the width is 15.0mm. From this end the width of the clasp narrows slightly towards the hooked end where its minimum width is 5.3mm. At this point the end expands to form a rectangular shape measuring 8.0mm in width and 4.1mm in length. This end of the clasp has a projecting down-turned hook which has a width of 3.2mm. There are two incomplete rivets along the longitudinal centre-line, one at each end. The rivet nearest the fish-tail end is made of iron (now corroded) and the other rivet is made of copper alloy. On the same alignment as these two rivets, close to the iron rivet, there is a circular perforation that has a diameter of about 1.0mm. There is a groove encircling the perforation. The front of the clasp is decorated with flaring grooves at the fish-tail end and parallel grooves at the hooked end. The rear face is plainThe clasp is in poor condition and a patina has not survived. It has copper alloy corrosion products on both faces and where the metal is visible it is a dull reddish colour. A similar book fitting has been recorded from Wickham Skeith Parish, Suffolk. See Portable Antiquities Scheme find: SF-84DD40.
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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