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Description: | Medieval copper alloy harness pendant of 13th or 14th century dateThe pendant is of figurative type, in the form of a bird and is complete, although the suspension mount is not attached (with a length of 32.7mm and a weight of 3.6g). At the apex is the single loop from the hinge, perpendicular to the axis of the pendant but now slightly distorted (with a length of 8.1mm, a width of 5.6mm, a thickness of 1.3mm - 2.3mm and a diameter of 1.5mm). There is the suggestion of iron staining around the perforation. The bird is likely to be an eagle displayed and has openwork decoration around its base. The head is turned, facing left and the pendant is widest across the top of the wings (with a width of 17.2mm). The wings project forward slightly and the body is convex across its width. The tail is fanned shaped and defined by the oval apertures. The detail on the bird in now difficult to discern but there is the suggestion of vertical ribbing on the wings and undulating rows across the body. The surface has a pale-brown corrosion with areas of dark-brown surface loss. It is likely that the pendant was originally gilt.The item may be an armorial badge on a pendant and two similar badges are catalogued from Norfolk (Ashley, 2002, p. 26, nos. 2-3)[1]. Ashley (ibid.) states that the badges may have decorated something other than horse furniture, possibly livery collars. [1] Ashley, S.; 2002; Medieval Armorial Horse Furniture; East Anglian Archaeology, Report No. 101; Norfolk Museum and Archaeology Service
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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