|
Date: |
|
Description: | Post-medieval elongated silver thimble dating to the 17th century AD. The thimble is complete constructed from a sheet of silver soldered along the edges with the side seam clearly visible attached to a separate domed top soldered to the almost straight sides. A plain band runs around the top of the body of the thimble separating the dome. Ten evenly spaced circular motifs are stamped immediately above this upper band. The body and most of the dome is punched with square indentations, giving a 'waffle' effect and decorated with oval shaped bands possibly representing strap work conjoined with smaller round bands decorated with what appears to be a flower motif possibly a rose. Below one of the round bands is a motif possibly a makers mark comprised of fronds that could be representing a stylised tree. This mark is located immediately above two raised circumferential lines demarking the base of the thimble. The lower part of the thimble between the circumferential lines is undecorated and the upper bands delineate an abstract design of what appears to be commas and rectangles. This abstract design and possible makers mark of a stylised tree are reminiscent of Nuremburg styled thimbles and it could originate from there. The length is 30mm, the width is 18mm thickness 18mm and the weight is 4.46g.Silver thimbles were used increasingly by the European nobility and gentry during the 17th Century but surviving examples are rare given that thimbles were much used and, when worn, were likely to have been melted down for their bullion value. In England, silver thimbles are documented as having been donated by women on the Parliamentary side to be melted down during the Civil War. Even later 17th Century English silver thimbles are rare, with few pieces in the national collections in The British Museum and the Museum of London. They are distinctive for their strapwork designs.The thimble shares similarities with NMS-257D33 treasure case 2012T794, NARC-A80562 treasure case 2011T473 and with LON-396407 which has been dated to between AD1520-1620, probably from Nuremberg, which is similar to another example of a silver thimble with a similar hunting scene which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art accession no 10.135.3 it is dated 1577 and is also probably from Nuremberg, Germany. The style of the two thimbles is very similar although the precise detail of the decoration is different. Holmes (1988: 3) writes that thimbles with hand-punched indentations often have a maker's mark which is struck where the spiral of indentations begins near the base. These would appear to have been imported mostly from Nuremberg, under the ordinances of the Guild of Thimble makers, all thimbles and sewing rings were required to carry the mark of the master who made them. Thimbles with makers' marks normally date from 1520-1620.References:Darch,E (2012) NMS-257D33. A POST MEDIEVAL THIMBLE Webpage available at: http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/529775Cassidy, J. (2011) NARC-A80562. A POST MEDIEVAL THIMBLE Webpage available at: http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/458311Holmes, E. 1988. Sewing Thimbles. Datasheet 9. Finds Research Group 700-1700 Datasbeets 1-24. 1985-1998. Reprographic Unit, University of OxfordSummnal. K. (2012) LON-396407. A POST MEDIEVAL THIMBLE Webpage available at: http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/530006
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
More Like this...
-
THIMBLE
Treasure Case 2013-T265: Specialist Report…
-
THIMBLE
Treasure Case 2012-T907: Specialist Report…
-
-
THIMBLE
A Post Medieval copper alloy…
-
DAGGER
A cast copper alloy fragment…
-
THIMBLE
A post medieval copper alloy…
-
THIMBLE
A small domed silver thimble.…
-
-
FERRULE
A cast copper alloy ferrule…
-
THIMBLE
A complete misshapen and damaged…
|