KNIFE

A copper-alloy knife end-cap from a scale-tang knife, dating from the early post-Medieval period.

The object has a sub-cuboidal central block, with a deeply concave upper side and a vertical slot in the base, in which is contained a remnant of the iron tang. At the top of the right- and left-hand sides, there is a right-angled projection. These projections are of sub-oval cross section, with angular lower faces and rounded, projecting terminals. The two wider faces of the block each have a pair of incised columns, located one at either end of the face. In each column a band of angled, parallel grooves is bordered on its inner side by a plain vertical groove. A further groove extends around the base of the block, running parallel to the horizontal bottom side.

Height: 20.1mm; width: 23.4mm; thickness: 8.2mm. Weight: 12.8g.

Thought to have been produced in the 16th century, knife end-caps take a wide variety of forms, with several typical examples illustrated by Brian Read (2001: Fig. 56). Close parallels for this particular cap include PAS records YORYM-A65069 and HAMP-6BE973. The design of these caps has been interpreted as being zoomorphic in nature, with the right-angled projections representing the heads of two back-to-back animals (cf. IOW-5C1ABF). Alternatively, it could be seen to depict a shirt or other upper body garment, and this theory is supported by WMID-573705, in which the T-shaped block represents the torso of a bear-like creature.