Rights Holder: Lincolnshire County Council
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PURSE
Unique ID: PUBLIC-DF206D
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
An incomplete, medieval, copper alloy zoomorphic purse bar. In one view a human/animal face is clearly visible and when rotated 90 degrees a snake mouth can be seen swallowing the bar.
The detail on the face is remarkable, with lines running from the eyes down the cheeks, and tiny grooves below the broken pivot point representing hair.
Once rotated the face of a snake swallowing the bar can be clearly seen. The chin and neck becoming the upper lip and nose, the back of the head the lower lip, and the eyebecoming the eye of the snake.
Away from the head, the bar is bent about 30 degees, some 3cm from the end. The lower part of the bar is decorated with cross hatching on the upper half, which in turn had a niello coating. The rove is missing from the end.
Underneath are two lugs, obviously there to secure the purse to the bar.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1450
Date to: Circa AD 1550
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 78 mm
Width: 11.8 mm
Thickness: 8.1 mm
Weight: 25.55 g
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Decoration style: Zoomorphic
Completeness: Fragment
Surface Treatment: Inlaid with niello
Spatial metadata
Region: East Midlands (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Nottinghamshire (County)
District: Newark and Sherwood (District)
To be known as: Mansfield area
Spatial coordinates
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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Timeline of associated dates
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