STRAP FITTING 726400

Description: A broken, therefore incomplete, copper-alloy post-medieval sword-belt fitting (hanger). This strap-fitting consists of half of the original mount (hanger), which, when complete, would have had two suspension loops from which a pair of hooked plates would have hung; in turn, the scabbard straps would have been attached to these plates. The mount features foliate decoration on its visible face. Such fittings are rarely found complete, rather elements or broken examples are far more common. However, a complete sword-belt hanger of this type can be seen on this database (ref. WILT-5F9183) and also in illustrated in Geake (2001, fig. 17), with examples of the accompanying M-shaped plates illustrated in Read (2008, 219-220; refs. 790-792). Such fittings 'proliferate in the 16th and 17th centuries' (Geake 2001, 35). Their design and decoration are relatively standardised. The outer edge of the mount is double cusped, then comes a waist after which it widens towards the centre then narrows before narrowing just before the point of break. The lower surface is flat and plain; the front, visible, face is decorated with a symmetrical foliate design in relief. A narrow, undecorated raised border surrounds the design, following the shape of the plate. The strap fitting is 29.9mm in length, 33.4mm wide, 4.35mm thick and weighs 9.95 grams.

Date: 1500 - 1700

Object type: STRAP FITTING

Last import: August 15, 2017