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HARNESS PENDANT
Unique ID: HAMP-2EAD62
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A complete Medieval cast copper alloy harness pendant of late 13th century date. The pendant is in the form of a heater-shaped shield. At the top of the object is a round attachment loop which remains attached to its suspension mount. The pendant has a chequerboard pattern of recessed squares which would have been filled with enamel, probably blue.
The original tincture can (if the enamel was blue and the raised squares retained metal and were gilded or tinned) be described in heraldic terms as checky a metal and azure. This opens up two possible identifications. The more likely is that of the Warenne earls of Surrey, who used checky or (gold) and azure and were possibly the wealthiest landowners in England in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; their arms are thought to be some of the oldest known. Alternatively checky argent (silver) and azure was used by the Gatton family. Hamo Gatton, of Gatton in Surrey, served as sheriff of Kent in 1286.
See Ashley (2002), p13 number 92 for a published example, with various examples on the database including LVPL-081A15, NCL-50D4E9, BERK-E07923 and IHS-1CD2A4.
Recorded from details emailed by the finder.
Notes:
Arms: Warenne, de. or Gatton, de (possibly).
Recorded from details emailed by the finder.
Class:
heraldic
Sub class: set
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1250
Date to: Circa AD 1350
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 40 mm
Width: 16 mm
Weight: 3.17 g
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Spatial metadata
County or Unitary authority: Hampshire (County)
District: Basingstoke and Deane (District)
Parish or ward: Old Basing and Lychpit (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SU6853
Four figure Latitude: 51.27210204
Four figure longitude: -1.02660901
1:25K map: SU6853
1:10K map: SU65SE
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley, S. | 2002 | Medieval Armorial Horse Furniture in Norfolk | Dereham | East Anglian Archaeology |
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Timeline of associated dates
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