STRAP END

Description: A copper alloy strap-end with a silver rivet in situ. The strap-end comprises a rectangular sheet of copper alloy which has been folded in half. The open end has a circular perforation, presumably for a lost attachment rivet. A silver rivet with large circular head pierces the plate about two thirds down, towards the folded end. The front is decorated with an incised geometric design divided into three differently-sized fields. The field nearest the open end is rectangular and contains what appears to be a stylised, three-leafed or -petalled foliate motif. The central field is an elongated rectangle containing a pair of triangles flanking the silver rivet, their points arranged towards it so that the whole resembles a diagonal cross. An incised border runs around the rivet. The final field, near the folded end, comprises a pair of rectangles arranged side-by-side. Remains of a grey-coloured inlay, presumably niello, survives in certain parts of the incised design. The back is plain and scratched. The strap-end is slightly bent at the point of the silver rivet.

Discussion: This strap-end does not fit neatly into Thomas' (2000) classification, but does feature elements that can be paralleled in several of his classes. The folded form is most like the rectangular group in his Class J (Thomas 2000, pp. 124ff, Fig. 3.33 C-D), albeit longer in length than most examples. The decoration resembles motifs that recur on Class A strap-ends: the three-leafed foliate motif recalls the fan-like and leafy motifs common to the attachment ends of many Trewhiddle-style examples; diagonal crosses decorate the centre of other examples (e.g. PAS database SUR-1513E3, LANCUM-8FC83C, NMS-234024, DENO-E5B4C0); and the rectangles at the folded end seem to resemble a stylised expression of the ears of their animal-headed terminals. The rivet towards the terminal end is a feature of some Class F strap-ends, as is the provision for its presence in the decorative scheme (Thomas 2000, pp. 120ff, Fig. 3.31 C-E). A strap-end of similar form also with incised decoration was found near to the present example in 2015 (PAS database LVPL-DA07D3). It is pierced for a rivet near the folded end, but this is now missing. Another similar folded strap-end, this time with an iron rivet near the folded end, is also recorded on the PAS database (NMS-65D2E2), with ring-and-dot decoration.

Date: Given the resemblances to these early medieval strap-ends, this object can be dated tentatively to the seventh to eleventh centuries, perhaps with a narrower date in the ninth to early tenth centuries given the use of niello inlay in decoration broadly resembling Trewhiddle style strap-ends.

In addition, the presence of the decorative silver rivet can be paralleled on brooches, particularly of the 8th century; compare CAM-C37AC3, NARC-E11208, NCL-771FB5 and BH-7F2D44. Other 8th-century objects with these rivets include  BUC-79A9CE and SF-7670F1.

The most likely date-range for this object is therefore the 8th to 10th century.