Rights Holder: Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum
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Unique ID: WILT-7A3E92
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
An incomplete medieval cast copper alloy scabbard chape dating to cAD1450 - 1600. It is made up of two plates soldered together: the flat under or back part and a more ornate open work upper or outer plate. It is shield shape in form, with a sub rectangular section (and opening) created by the outer plate having curved edges and so sitting proud of the inner plate . The lower end of the chape is a U shape with a small D shape knop as a terminal. The upper part of the chape is damaged with parts missing.
The outer plate is decorated with two longitudinal rectangular piercings (c 13mm x 4.50mm) which run parallel with the edges of the chape, each with a circular piercing (c 4.80mm) above. There are two small piercings at the base of the chape, probably for rivets. A raised longitudinal rib runs up the centre of the chape, extending towards a decorative scalloped edge, most of which is missing.
See SOM-3502C2 for an apparently identical chape and where it says: "The chape is most similar to Type II in the typological scheme published in the London Museum Medieval Catalogue (Ward-Perkins, 1940:285 Figure 87). Ward-Perkins (ibid.) dates these chapes to the late 15th or 16th century based on contemporary illustrations and dateable contexts of excavated of chapes from Fetter Lane, London. He suggests (ibid: 284) "Metal dagger chapes were only used on the sheaths of military daggers or of the more elaborate forms of civilian dagger. The great majority of surviving leather sheaths belonged to ordinary knives or knife-daggers and these have no metal terminal.""
It is 43.32mm in length, 29.26mm in width and weighs 9.73g.
Class: Chape
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1450
Date to: Circa AD 1600
Quantity: 1
Length: 42.32 mm
Width: 29.26 mm
Weight: 9.73 g
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Other reference: SSWM 5183
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Incomplete
4 Figure: ST8653
Four figure Latitude: 51.27597124
Four figure longitude: -2.20208779
1:25K map: ST8653
1:10K map: ST85SE
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
No references cited so far.