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Description: | A copper alloy Early Medieval or later pendant, probably for attachment to a harness. It is incomplete due to old breaks, and consists of the upper left quadrant which has an openwork pattern, with three irregular trapezoidal holes, attached to the head and wing of a bird facing left. There is a loop perforated for suspension set at ninety degrees to the pendant. The bird is naturalistic, with a domed head, down-turned beak, long neck, pronounced breastbone and right wing raised. Its tail is curved round to the reverse forming a U-shape, and part of one foot lies adjacent, the degree of wear making it difficult to say whether or not this terminal is complete. Broken edges to the upper right quadrant and on the breastbone indicate that the openwork continued around and enclosing the bird.The pendant measures 35.13mm in length, 24.02m in surviving width and weighs 6.06g. The style and quality of the metalwork suggest a possible Early Medieval date. It is reminiscent of the openwork disc from the Ashmolean collection illustrated in Macgregor 1997, p.64, no.25. One example from the PAS database, DENO-55AE35 is a pendant in the shape of a bird, for which a ninth to tenth century date is suggested. Armorial badges on pendants are known from the Medieval period, and Ashley shows two eagle pendants of fourteenth century date. (Ashley 2002, fig.25, nos 2, 3) However, none of these quoted examples are enclosed in an openwork disc, as is the Suffolk pendant.
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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badge
a Medieval copper alloy armorial…
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BADGE
a Medieval copper alloy armorial…
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