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Description: | A copper-alloy snake-form belt hook, dating from the post-Medieval to Modern periods. The piece is 'S-shaped', the upper surface of the snake's body segmented by a series of curved transverse grooves, with an incuse pellet in each segment. In contrast, the neck is decorated by a number of more closely-spaced bands of pellets. The oval head is wider than the adjacent neck, has moulded eyes and a series of segments, separated by shallow grooves. The animal's underside is covered with transverse grooves and interspersing ridges. The head of the snake is adjacent to the body, whereas there is a gap between the body and the tip of the tail.Length: 40.8mm; width: 20.6mm; thickness: 4.6mm. Weight: 12.91g.According to Gordon Bailey, the earliest snake-form fasteners appear on portraits of the early post-Medieval period, often used in association with sword-belts. After falling out of fashion in the 17th century, they regained popularity at the end of the 18th century, when they began to be used on certain military uniforms (1997: 20). It is unclear as to whether this piece represents one of the earlier or later examples.
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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