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Description: | Cast copper alloy enamelled and gilt heraldic harness pendant of probable 14th-century (c.1250 - c.1450) date. The pendant bears the arms of the de Bohun family, Earls of Hereford and Essex.The pendant is sub-triangular (shield-shaped) in plan and sub-rectangular in cross-section. The edges of the shield are slightly bevelled (although they have been abraded by movement in the ploughsoil) and the profile of the pendant is slightly bowed (convex). On the upper edge of the shield is an integral cast suspension loop which is set at 90 degrees to the plain of the pendant. This loop has been pierced however the hole is lost due to an old break. The pendant measures 34mm in length, 25.6mm width, is 5.5mm thick and weighs 7.28 grams.The front face of the pendant has an enamelled and gilt design. Heraldically the design is described as: Azure a bend (dexter) cotised Or, between 6 lions rampant Or. Translated, this means that the design is divided into two halves by a diagonal band which extends from the top left to bottom right of the shield. The band is formed from three gilt (Or) diagonal bars. Either side of this diagonal bar are three gilt (Or) lions rampant of varying sizes. The base colour of the shield (the 'ground') is a deep enamelled blue (Azure). A significant amount of the enamelled surfaces has been lost and the outline of one lion remains. The loss of enamel is most significant around the edges and the base where abrasion has been most damaging. The reverse face of the pendant is undecorated but is extremely rough and has suffered from laminating corrosion which has removed almost all the surface material.The harness pendant is a mid green colour with broken and abraded patina which covers most surfaces. All the edges of the pendant have been damaged by movement in the ploughsoil and here friable light active green corrosion is present which is causing the pendant to laminate. Similar shield-shaped horse-harness pendants have been dated to the middle of the medieval period, specifically the 14th century (see Griffiths: 1986: Horse Harness Pendants. Finds Research Group Data Sheet 5). A direct parallel of these arms can be seen in Ashley 2001: Medieval Armorial Horse Furniture in Norfolk (68-69, 80-81). The coat of arms is that of the de Bohun family, earls of Hereford and Essex.
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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