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Description: | A copper alloy horse harness pendant dating from the medieval period, probably the twelfth century. The pendant is openwork and square with projecting rounded lobes and is formed from two pieces which are hinged at the top. It is 44.9mm long and 27mm wide. Only the frame of the pendant survives in its entirety. It has two lugs projecting upwards to form the hinge at the top, and a suspension loop above that. This has a circular hole through it from side to side. The second piece of the pendant hangs in the frame from a single lug in the hinge. Only the lug survives but this was gilded on the front and has a transverse ridge across the base of the lug. The break is patinated. A copper alloy rivet survives running through the lug and the sides of the frame. The front and outside of the frame is decorated with gilding. The metal is grey green in colour. 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').
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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