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Description: | A copper alloy shield shaped horse harness pendant from the medieval period. The pendant has a pointed base and curved sides with a flat top. It is 45.2mm long and 26.8mm wide. It is decorated with a diagonal line running from top left to bottom right (a bend) which appears to have been filled with blue enamel. There is a label with five points which is coloured with red enamel. "A label is a horizontal strip with short vertical descenders known as points, usually three. It almost always occurs near the top of the shield. The label has many forms and varies in the number of points, usually 3, 5 or 7. It is not commonly used as an independent charge, but most frequently appears as a mark of difference, especially for the eldest son of a family while the father is still alive. On the father's death the son removes the label." (http://www.apl385.com/gilling/hsubs.htm, page consulted 20/12/07).There are very slight traces of silvering on the pendant, suggesting the ground colour was argent. There is a circular projecting lug on the top of the shield in the centre with a circular hole through it from side to side. The lug is 6.7mm thick. The metal is light brown in colour with areas of pale green corrosion.Similar heraldic horse harness pendants can be seen in Cherry (1991) in Saunders (ed) Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum Medieval Catalogue Part 1. Harness pendants are generally dated from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, with circular and openwork examples predominating the twelfth century, more varied types in the thirteenth and fourteenth century including the enamelled and heraldic types more commonly (Griffiths, 1995, 'The Medieval Horse and its Equipment').It has not been possible to match this pendant to the arms of any known family, but without an identifying charge, it is possible that this design may have been used by many individuals.
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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