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Description: | Cast copper alloy heraldic harness pendant of probable 14th-century (1250 - 1450) date. The pendant is sub-rectangular (sub-cruciform shape) in plan and sub-rectangular in cross-section. The edges of the pendant are slightly beveled and the profile of the pendant is slightly bowed (convex). On the top of the pendant is an integral cast suspension loop which is set at 90 degrees to the plain of the body. The pendant measures 38.1mm in length, 22.2mm in width, and it is 2.5mm thick. The suspension loop measures 9.3mm in length, 4.1mm in width and it is 6.5mm thick. The pendant weighs 4.77 grams.
Both the front and reverse of the pendant are very worn and corroded. Originally there would have been some form of gilt decoration on the front of the pendant. The majority of this applied decoration is now lost and only small fragments of gilding remain. The reverse seems to be plain. The harness pendant is a mid brown colour with small patches of light green active powdery corrosion on all surfaces. The patina of the pendant is abraded which has also resulted in an irregular asymmetrical shape.
Similar cross shaped heraldic horse-harness pendants have been dated to the middle of the medieval period, specifically the 14th century. This example is similar to Griffiths figure 12. (Griffiths: 1986: Horse Harness Pendants. Finds Research Group Data Sheet 5). | 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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