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Description: | Post Medieval cast copper-alloy 'S'-shaped belt fastener of c. 1575-c. 1800 date. The fastener has two swan head terminals with necks that curve to form hooks. Each head has a finely moulded beak and eyes, and there is possible traces of patterning on the neck which may represent feathers. The necks narrow below the heads before expanding again towards the centre of the body of the animal. At the centre is a raised band flanked a ring of six leaves on each side. The surface is coloured reddish brown with small flecks of a dark green patina. It is 36.9mm long, 17.3mm wide and 5.3mm thick; it weighs 7.04 grams. S-shaped 'snake belt' fasteners were probably associated with sword belts in the 17th and 18th centurys and parallels can be seen in Bailey's (1997) Detector Finds 3, 21-22. The examples with swan heads are widely considered to be late 16th to 17th century (Geake 2001: 35) but examples with snake heads continue in use on military and boys belts well into the 20th century.
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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