STRAP FITTING

Incomplete 16th Century copper alloy sword belt fitting. This fitting would have originally had three hooked fittings attached to the main mount plate, but only one survives in this instance. The mount plate is 70.18mm long, 28.28mm wide (to the bottom of the suspension loops) and 2.24mm thick. Cast in one piece, the mount plate is barely convex, thus with a semicircular section, and is shaped into a trifoliate design at either end, with the side opposite the suspension, loops shaped into three peaks for decorative effect. The three suspension loops are integral and all complete. Three iron rivets survive on the plate, evidenced by the iron patches to the front and back of the mount around the rivet holes. It is decorated on the front with a foliate design that is now mostly worn away. The reverse of the mount plate is plain and flat.

When viewed head on, there is one, surviving, complete hooked fitting hanging from the far left loop. It is 49.52mm long, 20.2mm wide and 2.56mm thick. It is again ever so slightly convex with a flat behind, and so is also semicircular in section. It is subtriangular in plan with a trifoliate end that mirrors those on the main mount. The hook passes forward through the suspension loop and ends with a globular terminal. Two iron rivets survive one to the top and one to the bottom of the hooked fitting. It is decorated with the same foliate design as the mount, which is less worn away here. The remains of the rivets can also be seen on the back of the fitting. The overall patina is light to mid-green, with the patches of iron around the rivets. It weighs 23.09g. There is an exact parallel in Read, 2001, Metal Artefacts of Antiquity, figure 26, number 373, though this has all of its suspended hooked fittings.