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Description: | A medieval copper alloy heraldic harness pendant with much of the detail lost from the front. Both front and back surfaces are missing their original patina and have additional light/ brown concretion. A few spots of gilding can be seen to the front.The harness pendant is shield-shaped with a straight top and convex sides which meet at a point at the bottom. From the middle of the top edge projects a suspension loop, turned through 90 degrees. It has a central piercing 1.7mm in diameter.The front of the pendant depicts a design of probably three motifs divided (one above, two below) by a triple diagonal line. The motifs are probably lions and these and the central diagonal line (which is widest) carry traces of gilding. No trace of enamel remains. The blazon is probably: [azure] a bend or, cotised between three lions rampant or and are probably those of the de Bohun family.The pendant measures 42.1mm in length, 25.7mm in max.width and 6.0mm in max.depth (at the loop; otherwise 2.8mm thick). It weighs 8.88g.Harness pendants are generally dated from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, with enamelled and heraldic types predominating in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (Griffiths, 1995 : 62). The De Bohun family were Earls of Hereford and Essex and their arms were borne by several members of the family in turn, the family line becoming extinct in 1372 (Ashley, 2002; 8). They were important landowners and many harness pendants with their arms have been recorded, examples on this database range from Northumberland to Cornwall.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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