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Description: | An incomplete and bent Early Post Medieval copper alloy book clasp, dating to the 16th or 17th Century. The clasp is formed from a thin rectangular strip of metal, broken at one end and with an integral blunt projecting hook at the other (width 5.8mm). The broken end would probably have expanded into a serrated edge. The object has been bent inwards at the middle at an angle of c.45 degrees. The upper surface is decorated at the hook end with a panel of rocker arm zig-zags followed by a series of longitudinal grooves of varying length. After the bend the strip is decorated with two punched ring-and-dot designs with central holes, the one of which nearest the broken edge retains a fragment of an iron rivet. There is a third punched hole nearer the hook end which also retains a small fragment of iron. The reverse of the book clasp is undecorated but bears significant amounts of iron staining.The book clasp is 47.5mm long, 11.8mm wide, 1.3mm thick and weighs 4.06g.The form and decoration are typical of book clasps of the early post-medieval period, as discussed by Margeson (1993: 74). Many similar example can be seen on the PAS database e.g. WMID-E6F4E6; YORYM-9FEF34 and SOM-1D5355.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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