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Description: | A cast copper-alloy military harness pendant of Roman date. It comprises a rectangular attachment plate that is D-shaped in section with raised central transverse rib. The rib is decorated with a series of three cross saltire motifs that has central pellets and are separated by vertical grooves, traces of inlaid niello suggesting they all originally contained niello. The remains of an added white metal coating is visible on the front face of the attachment plate, while the back face is undecorated but has at each end single integrally cast cylindrical rivets with slightly flattened heads. From the base of the attachment plate extends a central rectangular neck that is rectangular in section and has incised decoration on the front face. This comprises transverse grooves at top and bottom of the neck, between which is a double transverse groove containing a band of three vertical grooves. A similar white metal coating is visible on the front face.From the base of the neck extends a large and elaborate decorative terminal that is broadly leaf shaped, symmetrical and with openwork, inlaid niello decoration and traces of an added white metal coating on the front face. At the top of the plate beneath the neck is a trifoliate motif containing inlaid niello. Above this motif and to either side of the neck are single semi-circular perforations, with two kidney shaped perforations below. The sides of the plate curve inwards below the kidney shaped apertures to a bifuricated notch, the plate between the central motifs and each edge having a single foliate motif. This comprises a single vine tendril starting with a small pellet that follows the edge of the plate before spiralling inwards to a vine leaf positioned either side of the trifoliate motif. Each vine tendril and leaf has inlaid niello and there are additional single inlaid niello pellets below the kidney shaped motifs. Extending from the base of the kidney shaped motifs are a series of radiating diagonal grooves numbering ten in total that extend to the base of the plate, which has a projecting triangular terminal. To either side of the triangular terminal there are single sub-oval shaped perforations, each positioned just below the vine tendril motif. The sides of the plate below these perforations have slight notches followed by single projecting knops with scalloped edges, perhaps intended to be foliate in form. At the base of the terminal is a projecting knop that is roughly acorn shaped with a transvere groove at the top and a small semi-circular projection at the base.The entire object measures 67.52mm in length, 40.01mm in width, 3.34mm in thickness at plate, 5.28mm in thickness at neck, 3.88mm in thickness at attachment plate, and weighs 34.98g.This is a decorative harness pendant or mount of Roman date, probably related to Roman Early Principate cavalry parade uniform. It finds parallels in similar mounts excavated from Gorhambury (Neal, Wardle and Hunn, 1990: no. 170) and Richborough (Bushe-Fox, 1949: no. 180), as well as pendants from various contexts including from Suffolk (SF-BC1C94). The stylised vine tendrils draw on Bacchic imagery and, combined with potential oak tree imagery arguably displayed in the three knops at the base of the plate, inlaid niello and added white metal coating, are characteristic of Early Principate equine fittings (Bishop and Coulston, 1993: 105-106, figs. 65.4, 65.8). This all suggests a probable date range for the pendant in the later 1st century AD, c.43-100 AD.
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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