HARNESS PENDANT 270689

Description: A corroded and damaged, but complete cast copper-alloy medieval harness pendant (13/14th century AD). The body of the large pendant is broadly oval with a trapezoidal protrusion at the base; it could be described 'keyhole' shaped. Its form is unusual and difficult to parallel in the literature, for example it does not appear in the forms illustrated in Griffiths (1986, 3). The suspension loop is characteristically perpendicular to the body, sub-oval in form, with a circular perforation. It measures 11.7mm by 6.9mm by 3.2mm. The metal has corroded to a dark brown colour with traces of green and off-white corrosion product on the surface. Traces of gilding survive on the upper surface, in particular near the suspension loop and towards the trapezoidal terminal. The pendant has been twisted as a result of old damage, mainly following a strike to one side of the main oval body.

Date: 1200 - 1350

Object type: HARNESS PENDANT

Last import: August 15, 2017