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BADGE
Unique ID: LEIC-A6C834
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
Late medieval silver badge in the form of a male boar, complete except for the lower part of three of its four legs. The boar is seen in profile, facing left. It has an open mouth, long nose and prominent tusks; the ears are pointed and the left ear, closer to the viewer, has a recessed centre. A row of upright, slightly rearward-pointing bristles runs all the way along the back from the thick neck to the curled-up tail. Much of both right legs are missing, but more survives of the front left leg and the rear left leg is still complete. Under the tail is a prominent testicle, and between and in front of the rear legs is a forward-pointing penis.
There are patches of gilding behind its ears, on the tail and across the row of bristles along its back. This would suggest that the whole surface was originally thickly gilded.
The reverse contains a single sub-rectangular patch of solder, which would have held a pin in place. It measures 28mm long, 15mm high and 2mm thick. The object weighs 3.25g and is in fair condition. It dates to the late 15th century AD.
The Boar was the livery badge of the household of Richard III. The badge was found during the search for the Battle of Bosworth field and provides good evidence for the presence of a member of the king's personal household in the area. It thus adds weight to the other archaeological evidence, which has now located the battlefield and thus the place of death of Richard III.
Notes:
This badge appeared in the ITV1 Series 'Britain's Secret Treasures' on 22 July 2012.
The badge is published on pages 104 and 105 of the catalogue for the British Museum exhibition 'Shakespeare: Staging the World' (2012), by Jonathan Bate and Dora Thornton (BM Press).
Find of note status
This is a find of note and has been designated: National importance
Subsequent actions
Current location of find: Bosworth Battlefield Centre
Subsequent action after recording: Acquired by museum after being declared Treasure
Treasure details
Treasure case tracking number: 2009T480
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod to: Late
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1470
Date to: AD 1485
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 28 mm
Width: 15 mm
Thickness: 2 mm
Weight: 3.25 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Wednesday 9th September 2009
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
SMR reference number: FLE15302
Other reference: BOS5227
Treasure case number: 2009T480
Museum accession number: X.A19.2011
Materials and construction
Primary material: Silver
Completeness: Incomplete
Surface Treatment: Gilded
Spatial metadata
Region: East Midlands (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Leicestershire (County)
District: Hinckley and Bosworth (District)
To be known as: Bosworth
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: GPS (from the finder)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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Timeline of associated dates
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