Rights Holder: Royal Institution of Cornwall
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HARNESS PENDANT
Unique ID: CORN-2D0344
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Cast copper alloy enamelled harness pendant, lozenge-shaped in plan with the suspension loop at right angles to the face. The neck of the loop expands to a circular aperture, now broken open. The face of the pendant is decorated with a white enamelled unicorn jumping over a green enamelled hedge or bush below and above it. The unicorn has a raised tail, trifurcated at the end, and expanded cloven hooves. The mouth is defined with a thin segment of enamel having been removed and the horn has several shallow triangular sections removed to make it appear ridged. Unicorns were a symbol of feminine chastity but were also associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary and appear in depictions of her (Kevin Leahy pers comm).
A similar naive unicorn rampant can be seen on a harness pendant from Essex in ESS-6F89E7 and another unicorn passant from Cambridgeshire in BUC-04A353, which are dated from the Medieval period.
Williams (1999) illustrates a similar enamelled prancing unicorn on a shield-shaped harness pendant on page 180, Fig.6, No.49, which was found in Leatherhead, Surrey in 1952, which is dated from the Medieval period.
Ward Perkins (1940) illustrates a similar lozenge-shaped pendant with a stylised griffin on page 121, Fig.40, No.4 (A 8871), which is categorised as Type II, which is dated from the 13th to the 14th century.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1200
Date to: Circa AD 1400
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 37 mm
Width: 29 mm
Thickness: 3.4 mm
Weight: 10.53 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 1st November 2011 - Wednesday 30th November 2011
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Secondary material: Enamel
Manufacture method: Cast
Decoration style: Zoomorphic
Completeness: Complete
Surface Treatment: Inlaid with enamel
Spatial metadata
Region: South West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
District: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
Parish or ward: Mawgan-in-Pydar (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SW8766
Four figure Latitude: 50.455069
Four figure longitude: -5.00202
1:25K map: SW8766
1:10K map: SW86SE
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 | 121, Fig.40, | No.4 (A 8871) | |
| Williams, D. | 1999 | Some recent finds from Surrey | Guildford | Surrey Archaeological Society | 180, Fig.6, | No.49 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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