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HARNESS PENDANT
Unique ID: PUBLIC-00EFFD
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A copper alloy harness pendant dating from the Medieval period in the form of a square-topped shield, 18 mm long, 13.4 mm wide, 1.4 mm thick, with 2.8 mm remnant of the base of a suspension loop at the top. The face of the pendant has a recessed lion rampant, facing left, which occupies the whole shield. The lower half of the lion and the whole of its long, upright tail retain its inlay of enamel which has now degraded to a dark red-brown colour. Small fragments of the same colour enamel are visible in the upper body and lower jaw of the lion. Patches of gilding also remain on the background areas around the enamel. The back is plain apart from a short, off-centre ridge close to the lower edge, possibly a casting fault.
Mills (1999) states on page 62 that shield-shaped heraldic pendants were in fashion throughout the 14th century. Their designs frequently feature lions rampant and he illustrates an example on p.67, no.187 which has a gold lion rampant on a blue enamelled background.
Read (2001) illustrates a very similar shield-shaped pendant that is the same size with a lion rampant in red enamel with a gold background on page 53, fig.32, no.411, which is dated from the 14th century.
Notes:
Arms: Uncertain.
Class: heraldic
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Middle
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod to: Middle
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1300
Date to: Circa AD 1400
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 20.8 mm
Width: 13.4 mm
Thickness: 2.4 mm
Weight: 2.26 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Thursday 5th May 2016 - Thursday 5th May 2016
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Secondary material: Enamel
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Incomplete
Surface Treatment: Inlaid with enamel
Spatial metadata
Region: South West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
District: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
Parish or ward: St. Columb Major (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SW8962
Four figure Latitude: 50.41986834
Four figure longitude: -4.97163346
1:25K map: SW8962
1:10K map: SW82NE
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mills, N. | 1999 | Medieval Artefacts - catalogue and price guide | Witham | Greenlight Publishing | p.67 | no.187 | |
| Read, B. | 2001 | Metal artefacts of antiquity: A catalogue of small finds from specific areas of the United Kingdom | Langport | Portcullis Publishing | p.53, fig.32 | no.411 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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