STRAP END

Copper-alloy strap-end of late early-medieval date, decorated in the Urnes style. The split attachment end is undecorated except for neatly bevelled edges, and has a single copper-alloy rivet in the centre of the wider edge. This then tapers to a decorated terminal with interlace in high relief. The interlace looks like it was intended as openwork but imperfectly cast, so that only one space between the interlacing strands is now perforated.

At the junction of the split attachment end and the terminal, there is a C-shaped ridge around a pellet, with the open ends facing the terminal. This area often has an animal head, but this motif does not seem intended as this. The interlace then begins with an oval around a diagonal cross, the terminal quarter of this cross then joining with the next element to form a second interlocking but smaller oval around another diagonal cross. The two crossing strands in this second cross (which had formed the outer oval in the first element) then turn into what may be two profile animal heads, both with a projecting brow but otherwise unlike. Alternatively, the entire terminal may be seen as a profile animal head, with open jaws perhaps holding something within.

There is no very close parallel either in Thomas 2000 or on the PAS database, although an example from Doncaster (Thomas 2000, cat. no. 1323; Fig. 3.32C' Thomas 2004, fig. 5.37) has a similar asymmetric terminal, and several examples of the Urnes style have the oval and diagonal cross elements. WMID-6A7F06, SWYOR-009916 and SUR-D38E82 are particularly clear examples, but also see PUBLIC-2DC5C9, SOM-1FAAB0, WAW-8C9ED4, LEIC-B46A41, NLM-852925 and LVPL1462. The Urnes style on metalwork dates to the mid to late 11th century.