HOOKED TAG

SILVER GILT DRESS-HOOK FROM THE BRONINGTON AREA, WREXHAM

Welsh Treasure Ref. No. 10.09

A silver gilt dress-hook was found in the Bronington area, Wrexham, by Mr XXXX of Wrexham Metal Detecting Club, while metal detecting in July 2010. The dress-hook was retained by the Department of Archaeology & Numismatics, National Museum and Gallery, Cardiff, on behalf of H. M. Coroner for N. E. Wales.

Description

Incomplete composite silver-gilt dress-hook (hook missing) with a lozenge-shaped back, to which 'rope-twist' filigree decoration had been soldered (filigree wire bordered by 3 circlets and granulated pellets in the corners, and 3 circlets on the four hollow, hemispherical bosses. There is a central perforation for a decorative knop, probably a flower head, which is now missing. There is a punch mark on the reverse, which has been made in a repoussé manner. Gilding does not extend along the full length to the back.

Maximum width 26.6 mm; weight 3.5g.

The dress hook has not undergone any conservation.

Metal Content

Analysis to ascertain the elemental composition of the artefact was carried out by Mary Davies using a Bruker TRACER III-V Light Element Analyzer hand-held XRF, with a rhodium target, a voltage of 40kV and a beam current of 9.6μA. The readings were taken from a relatively dirt-free area of each blade, for 100 live seconds.

The composition is therefore about 99% silver, 1% copper.

Conclusions

Decorative dress-hooks have been found more often than the smaller hook loops (for example Parham, Suffolk (Treasure Annual Report 2002, no. 138; Thornton and Mitchell 2003, fig. 1a, b), Petersfield, Hants (ibid, fig. 3), West Malling, Kent (Treasure Annual Report 1998-9, no. 216) and related to examples with cusped trefoil back-plates from Caldecote, Warwickshire and Staxton, N. Yorkshire (Gaimster, Hayward, Mitchell and Parker 2002, figs 4, 5). For a dress hook from the Hitcham area decorated with a simpler version of a similar layout, see Treasure Annual Report 2004, no. 278. Documentary evidence indicates that these items were popular in the sixteenth century (the latest reference in an inventory being dated 1598; Gaimster et al 2002, 184; Thornton and Mitchell 2003).

It is my opinion that as an object which has at least 10 per cent by weight precious metal, and which is at least 300 years old, the dress-hook is treasure under Section 1 (1) (a) of the Treasure Act 1996.

Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales is interested in acquiring this item.

REFERENCES

Gaimster, D., Hayward, M., Mitchell, D. and Parker, K. 2002, 'Tudor silver gilt dress-hooks: a new class of treasure find in England', Antiquaries Journal 82, 157-96.

Thornton, D and Mitchell, D. 2003, 'Three Tudor silver dress-hooks', Antiquaries Journal 83, 486-491.

Treasure Report 1998-9, Treasure Annual Report 1998-1999 (DCMS, London).

Treasure Report 2002, Treasure Annual Report 2002 (DCMS, London).

Treasure Report 2004, Treasure Annual Report 2004 (DCMS, London).

Author

Dr M. Redknap,

Acting Keeper of Archaeology & Numismatics,

Department of Archaeology & Numismatics,

Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.

14th September 2011