EARLY MEDIEVAL STRAP FITTING

1000

Harness fitting made from copper alloy and decorated with Ringerike-style engraving. It is largely flat, with a broken arched projection at one end; below this the object flares out in a series of symmetrical incurves, and has two circular perforations before curving back to a narrow flat projection at the other end. This end also appears to be broken, although both breaks are old and worn so hard to recognise. The decoration is now very worn too, so that it is hard to read; shallowly engraved lines in a symmetrical pattern might suggest a pair of opposed animal heads whose beaks curve around to form the holes. The metal has patches of green patina over brownish corrosion. Although a close parallel has not been found, the metal colour and decoration are paralleled among 11th-century harness fittings. The object has been seen by Susan Youngs and Leslie Webster at the British Museum, who both confirm the identification and agree that exact parallels are yet to be found. SF-5C8176 is broadly similar and the two may be related.