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Description: | Cast copper alloy zoomorphic (bird) harness fitting of probable medieval date (1250 - 1450).
The harness fitting consists of two major elements; the first is an ornate gilt zoomorphic (bird) terminal or head; the second element is the cast stem.
The zoomorphic terminal is a three dimensional representation of a bird, probably a swan, with a long tapering neck and wide body with spreading wings. The body of the bird is roughly sub-rectangular in plan and profile. The cross section is bowed or crescent shaped, being thicker in the middle (body) and tapering toward the edges (wings). The body measures 39.4mm in length, 23.4mm width, and is 7.3mm thick. The neck and the head of the bird are sub-rectangular in plan and profile; the cross section is sub-circular. It measures 21.8mm in length, 4.1mm width, and 4.2mm thick. The entire mount weighs 18.48 grams.
The terminal (bird) has been badly abraded in the plough soil and no decoration, apart from the partial gilding, survives. However, the cast shape of the bird is very interesting and skillfully produced. The tail is shaped to give the impression of spreading feathers. It is also cast at an angle, which mirrors the curve of the neck. The wings have been damaged and badly abraded, but it seems that they are slightly swept back, possibly giving the impression of flight. The reverse, underside, of the bird is undecorated.
Set slightly off centre in the middle of the body, between the wings, is a large integral cast broken spike or stem. This stem is sub-rectangular in both profile and cross-section. It measures 33.1mm in length, 6.8mm width, and is 6mm thick. It is formed in two parts. The stem tapers from the base of the bird to a point approximately ? along the length of the stem (17.5mm). Here the stem narrows significantly (3.2mm wide) and continues to taper to a broken point. This type of stem or spike suggests that the mount was originally proud of the surface it was set into. This is reinforced by the fact that the upper wider part of the stem has amounts of gilt adhering to it, whereas the lower part has not. This, of course, may also be due to the wear of the object and subsequent damage it has received in the plough soil.
The Harness fitting has a light-mid green colour and an uneven badly abraded patina which covers most of the surfaces. It also has several small patches of light green active corrosion. As mentioned the fitting has been abraded and damaged in the plough soil. The lower part of the stem is bent at an angle and the bottom of it has been broken. This break though seems to be relatively old as it is both worn and has an uneven patina on it.
A number of similar harness fittings have been recorded in the past. The lower part of the stem would pass through a sphere which is free to rotate; attached to this sphere would be several arms each with a pendant hanging from the end. It is thought that these elaborate fittings would have decorated the draught-saddles of horses pulling carriages (Griffiths, N. 1986: Horse Harness Pendants, Finds Research Group Datasheet 5 p2). The closest parallel to this example is from Termoli Cathederal, Italy and is now in the British Museum (Ward Perkins, B: 1949: 'A Medieval Harness-Mount at Termoli' Antiquities Journal 29, pp 1-7). The majority of these examples date to the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | 1250
1450 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Peter Reavill | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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