MEDIEVAL PURSE

1250

A copper-alloy purse hanger or arched pendent mount. Consisting of three arches, the central arch is larger than the two flanking ones, the mount measures 54.12mm in length. The bar is faceted and 3.15mm in width. The terminals are collared with terminal semi-circular knobs.Similar arched pendant mounts are known from London. They swung freely, held at each end, usually by a bar mount, to a girdle. They were used to attach purses or knives to the belt. They were identified by analogy with examples represented in mid-13th century French sculpture (Egan and Pritchard 1991, 219-224).