HARNESS PENDANT

A complete Medieval gilt copper-alloy horse harness pendant with suspension mount dating to c. AD 1230-1372.

Description: The pendant is shield-shaped and rectangular in cross-section. It has a circular suspension loop attached to a cruciform suspension mount. The surface of the pendant is decorated with an enamelled heraldic motif consisting of af field of blue with three lions standing upright in the upper right half of the pendant with three lions standing upright in the bottom left half divided from each other by three lines heraldically speaking Azure a bend argent cotised between six lions. There are no surviving signs of enamel in the lions or the bend, all of which would originally have been enamelled.

The suspension loop is joined to a cruciform suspension mount with an iron rivet remaining in situ although broken in both. The cruciform suspension mount has four arms joined by a centrally grooved cross. Attached to the central cross on each side is a collar. The upper three arms all follow the same form where the collar tapers inwards slightly to form concave edges. It then tapers outward where it joins another collar. From this collar there is a circular looped projection where the now missing rivets would have been placed. Attached to this is an oval shaped bevelled knop which is D-shaped in cross section. The fourth arm is much shorter than the upper three, and is bifurcated. It is formed by a projection with a central slot and two circular suspension lugs pierced at their centre where it is joined to the pendant suspension loop. The reverse of the pendant and mount are flat and undecorated and has a dark green to brown patina. Much of the gilding has worn off and some light green mottling across both.

Measurements:

Pendant: 39.40mm long, 23.52mm wide, 7.12mm thick (including with suspension loop, 2.67mm without) and 7.87g in weight.

Harness suspension loop: 45.49mm long, 34.66mm wide, 3.67mm thick and 8.76g in weight.

Total weight: 16.63g in weight.

Discussion: Shield shaped harness pendants were very popular and many examples exist on the PAS database. Similar heraldic harness pendants have also been noted by Ashley (2002: nos. 51, 55, 67 etc. pgs 10, 11 and 38) and Read (2001, 53-54).

The heraldry on this pendant is likely that that of the Arms of de Bohun, Azure, a bend argent cotised or between six lions rampant or. The de Bohun were a Anglo-Norman family whose male line died out by the end of the 14th century (1372), although the name was adopted on by one of the female lines and continued for a time. This heraldry is not uncommonly reported to the PAS with nearly 100 examples recorded at the time of writing, an example is also in the collection of the British Museum (1877,0116.19). Baker (2015, 7) notes that the heraldry of de Bohun is one of the six most common private arms to figure on heraldic pendants reported. Baker (ibid) goes onto note that that there is a wide array of styles and quality of workmanship in these, which we can see in the variety of examples reported to the PAS. The arms of Bouhan are regulare seen in rolls of the period adn appear to have been adopted c.1200-1215.