BADGE

Unique ID: LANCUM-61F133

Object type certainty: Probably
Workflow status: Published

Silver 'badge' in the form of a female bust, in quarter profile (left), wearing early sixteenth-century dress, including a 'kennel-shaped' head-dress with hair loose beneath. The low neckline of her dress reveals a cruciform pendant that she wears around her neck. The object has a cabled border on its lower edge. On the reverse there are two extant stitching loops, one at the top behind the head, and one in the left corner. A third loop is missing but a scar remains in the right corner where it was originally attached. The object has been bent at a point close to its centre, and may have been deliberately bent before being lost/deposited.

Notes:

No exact parallel for this object could be found. It is reminiscent of pilgrims' badges, popular from the fourteenth century until the Reformation, though most are made of lead-alloy, not precious metal. James Robinson (British Museum) has suggested this 'badge' might be of St Ursula, due to its resemblance to the bust reliquary of a female saint, probably a companion of St Ursula, from the Netherlands, in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Alternatively it might be a secular item, of a (now) unknown female. Such badges were sewn on to textile clothing.

Subsequent actions

Current location of find: Museum of Lancashire
Subsequent action after recording: Acquired by museum after being declared Treasure

Treasure details

Treasure case tracking number: 2011T344

Chronology

Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Date from: Circa AD 1500
Date to: Circa AD 1530

Dimensions and weight

Length: 45 mm
Width: 30 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight: 16 g
Quantity: 1

Discovery dates

Date(s) of discovery: Wednesday 1st June 2011

Personal details

Found by: This information is restricted for your login.
Recorded by: Mr Stuart Noon - [ view all attributed records]
Identified by: Dr Michael Lewis - [view all attributed records]
Secondary identifier: James Robinson - [ view all attributed records]

Other reference numbers

Treasure case number: 2011T344

Materials and construction

Primary material: Silver [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Manufacture method: Cast [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Completeness: Complete [scope notes | view all attributed records]

A resized image of Religious icon made of silver probably a pilgrims mount perhaps 15th or 16th century Catholic related

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Spatial metadata

Region: North West
County: Lancashire
District: Preston
To be known as: PRESTON

Spatial coordinates

Grid reference source: GPS (from the finder)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.

Discovery metadata

Method of discovery: Metal detector [scope notes]
General landuse: Cultivated land[scope notes]
Specific landuse: Minimal cultivation[scope notes]

References cited

No references cited so far.

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