Rights Holder: Kent County Council
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Unique ID: KENT-70A2CA
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published
A medieval copper alloy book clasp of hinged type (Howsam type A.1.1), dating to c. AD1300-1400. It consists of the hinged end only, with a thick, slightly domed rounded plate with a central circular perforation. Two flaring integral projections on one side are joined by a separate copper-alloy bar. On the other side there is a single projection, pierced sideways with a large circular hole. In side view this projecting terminal is polygonal and it was probably intended as a very stylised animal head. The book clasp is 14.4mm long, 7.5mm wide, 3.6mm thick and weighs 1.51g.
The clasp would have been secured over a peg in the opposite cover, which would have fitted into the hole in the centre. The loop in the terminal is thought to have held a cord, making the clasp easier to remove from the peg.Compare IOW-A085E0, GLO-EE65B6, etc. A very similar example can be seen in Egan and Pritchard (1991, 101, no. 720-26) which come from late 14th- or early 15th-century contexts.
Class:
clasp
Sub class: Howsam type A.1.1
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1350
Date to: Circa AD 1450
Quantity: 1
Length: 14.4 mm
Width: 7.5 mm
Thickness: 3.6 mm
Weight: 1.51 g
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4 Figure: TR1041
Four figure Latitude: 51.12976362
Four figure longitude: 0.99995138
1:25K map: TR1041
1:10K map: TR14SW
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Egan, G. and Pritchard, F. | 1991 | Dress Accessories, c.1150-c.1450 (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London 3) (1991) | London | Stationery Office Books | 101 | 720 |