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Description: | A copper-alloy Medieval zoomorphic strap fitting, designed for the suspension of an item such as a purse from a belt, or as a belt slide and dating from the 14th or 15th century. The object is a zoomorphic head at one end, which resembles a dragon. It has a moulded closed mouth, concave top to its snout, and moulded oval ears. The neck of the beast is at right angles to the head and is D shaped in section. It forms a long straight bar which is decorated on the curved face with moulded rounded ridges and wide grooves, which are oblique and give the appearence of a fluted band wrapped round the bar, though the decoration is only on the curved face. At the lower end, the bar angles outwards and curves into a sub-circular hook. About half of the hook and the probably loop attahment at its other end are missing. The looped part is convex on the inner face and sub-triangular on the outer face with a ridge along the apex. It is decorated with a slightly projecting shield shaped area, the shield being a pointed oval or egg shaped. A plain long cross in incised into this shield. The break at the existing end of the object is worn and patinated. The metal has a smooth dark grey green patina. The strap fitting is 94.9mm long, 27mm wide and 9.86mm thick. 38.3g.CAM-3BF03B is a fragmentary example that cites many published references: "Complete examples of similar strap-fittings show this artefact is likely to have has a circular profiled loop or recurving hook with a rectangular profiled loop at the terminal which on most examples ends just below the beast's jaw. Goodall, A. (in Saunders, P., 2012. Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum Medieval Catalogue Part 4. Salisbury : Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, 107-108 & 136, fig.29, nos.178-181) describes this type of strap-fitting as having been slid onto a belt strap and that the hook part was probably used to support a purse. Goodall, A. states that dating is uncertain but that an iron example excavated at Wharram Percy was found in a Post-Medieval context. Other sources suggest these might have been used to suspend daggers or swords (Murawski, P.G., 2000 Benet's Artefacts of England and the United Kingdom: Current Values Cambridge : , Second Edition 2003 AD, pp.353, no.M05-0401, no date suggested other than Medieval,and Cuddleford, M.J., 1994. Identifying Metallic Small Finds. Ipswich, Suffolk : Anglia Publishing, pp.55 & 38, no.55. suggested c. fourteenth to fifteenth century AD). If used on harness maybe a function such as a reign guide should be considered."A complete example in silver dated to the 14th century is BH-ECDF96. See also HAMP-47CD64 which cites Read, B., 2008 Hooked-Clasps and Eyes Langport : Portcullis Publishing, 214-215 , 771-773.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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