STRAP FITTING

A complete copper alloy hooked mount of Post-Medieval date (AD 1500-1700).

The object is a component of a sword-belt fitting. The mount is asymmetrical with a fleur-de-lys or trefoil shape at the upper edge and a pair of rounded projections towards the base at the terminal where the integral hook extends. The rounded end of the hook broadens then narrow slightly to a rounded knop at the end. The centre of the mount is decorated with an incised pattern of a central stem and curling branches. The reverse of the object is flat and undecorated. There are two rivet holes, one above the other on the main body of the mount. The upper rivet hole is filled with iron corrosion. There is also an area of iron corrosion visible on the reverse. The object has been broken in two at the point above the rounded projections near the base of the object. The object has a mid-green coloured patina.

Read (2001, page 43 ref 373) illustrates a complete example of a mount with three integral suspension loops and the hooked fittings attached and suggests its purpose as a sword belt fitting. Read suggests his example dates to the 16^thcentury. There are other examples on the database (DUR-B36BDE) and another found in close proximity to this example (WMID-26B3A6).

The mount measures 48.85mm in length, 20.44mm in width, 2.69mm in thickness and weighs 8.7 grams.

Read, B, (2001) Metal artefacts of antiquity: a catalogue of small finds from specific areas of the United Kingdom Langport, Portcullis Publishing.