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PURSE
Unique ID: IOW-5BF915
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
An incomplete Late Medieval to Early post-Medieval cast copper-alloy purse bar (c. 1450-c. 1550 AD).
The central block is sub-rectangular in plan and cross-section. It is perforated vertically at the centre to accommodate the shaft of the suspension loop. On the underside, at either side of the perforation, there is a large 'V'-shaped nick. The front and back of the central block is decorated with a low relief groove forming a border. The suspension loop is incomplete and the separate rove at the opposite end of the shaft is intact. The suspension loop, its shaft and the rove are fused to the central block. At each end of the central block there is a short arm terminating with a separate domed rove. Between this rove and the central block at each end there are the remains of a frame. These fragments of the frame are free moving.
All elements are made of copper-alloy.
This object is covered with light green corrosion products and has traces of a green patina. The breaks are old and there is a large dent on one face of the central block.
Height: 31.67mm; width: 48.38mm; thickness: 8.59mm. Weight: 35.57g.
A similar purse bar is illustrated in Ward-Perkins 1940; 167, Fig. 52, ref: B1 dating to the late 15th to early 16th centuries.
A similar purse bar has been recorded from Sellack Parish, Herefordshire. See Portable Antiquities Scheme find: WAW-0BD046.
Class: Ward Perkins Type B1
Subsequent actions
Current location of find: Finder
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1450
Date to: Circa AD 1550
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Height: 31.67 mm
Width: 48.38 mm
Thickness: 8.59 mm
Weight: 35.57 g
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: IOW2012-1-97
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Isle of Wight (Unitary Authority)
District: Isle of Wight (Unitary Authority)
To be known as: Isle of Wight
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: GPS (from the finder)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Museum | 1940 | London Museum Medieval Catalogue | London | HMSO | 167, Fig. 52 | B1 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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