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Description: | A complete post-Medieval copper-alloy hooked plate from a sword-belt fitting (1600-1700).These strap-fittings tend to consist of a mount with three suspension loops from which hang a trio of hooked plates; the scabbard straps would have been attached to these plates. The ensemble features foliate decoration on their visible faces. For an illustration of a complete sword-belt fitting, see: Read (2001, 43; ref: 373).This single hooked plate is sub-triangular in plan and flat on both faces. From the hook end (width 4.6mm) the plate flares out to a width of 14.0mm. Aligned with the base of these side protrusions is a circular rivet hole, 2.6mm in diameter. Below, the object narrows to a waist 9.2mm in width before widening to trefoil terminal (width 19.0mm). Centrally aligned with the beginning of the trefoil there is another circular rivet hole, 2.6mm in diameter. At the front a moulded scrolled foliage pattern consists of a central vertical branch with fronds veering towards the edges at each side. There is a moulded leaf at the hook end. The rear face is plain and the rivet holes are countersunk on this face. The rearward projecting hook is circular in cross-section and terminates with a globular knop which makes contact with the end of the plate.This fitting has a dull green patina with some areas of corrosion.Length: 42.0mm; width: 19.0mm; thickness: 2.2mm. Weight: 7.27g.Such fittings are rarely found complete. Incomplete and fragmentary examples are far more common. An illustration of another complete sword-belt fitting can be found in Read (2001, 43, fig. 26, ref: 373). Such fittings 'proliferate in the 16th and 17th centuries' (Geake 2001, 35). Their design and decoration are relatively standardised.Read, B. 2001. Metal Artefacts of Antiquity. Portcullis Publishing. LangportGeake, H. 2001 Finds Recording Guide Version 1.1.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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