PURSE

Late Medieval to early Post Medieval copper alloy purse-bar of 15th to 16th century date
The purse frame is incomplete and is fragmentary (with a surviving length of 85.3mm and a weight of 33.5g). The purse-bar is a variant of Ward Perkins (1940, p 158 - 171) , Type A1. The missing loop swivelled within a sub-rectangular central block (14.0mm long, 9.7mm thick and 14.8mm high). The central perforation is circular (with a diameter of 6.2mm) with a countersink on the underside and is considerably worn through the rotation of the missing loop. The perforation is positioned off-centre (resulting in one wall only having a thickness of 1mm, while the other wall is 2.1mm thick). The central block is corroded and worn but appears to have been decorated with incised double-cross hatching, which may possibly have held niello inlay. The ends of the block have moulded beast's heads biting on the bars. The bars are of sub-rectangular section, gradually thinning to the break and with straight divergent sides (With a maximum surviving width of 12.2mm and a thickness of 2.7mm). The remains of the start of one of the attachment plates are evident on the longer surviving bar. The bars may also have been decorated with an incised lattice design but is now worn and corroded. The surface has a green patina where it survives and elsewhere has corroded dark-brown.

Ward Perkins sees type 'A' purse-bars as earlier and more elaborate than the other types and suggests that the uniformity in style may indicate a single production centre for the type. The rectangular-sectioned bar may imply a slightly later date or different place of production.

~~ Ward-Perkins, J.B., 1940, London Museum medieval Catalogue