POST MEDIEVAL STRAP FITTING

1550

A complete cast copper alloy strap/ belt fitting in the form of a snake, dating to the late 16th/ 17th century AD (length: 36mm; width: 18mm; thickness: 3mm; weight: 5.65g).This ‘S’ shaped buckle is sub-oval in section and has a pointed head (with a bird/ eagle appearance) at one end with the eye and mouth clearly marked on both sides. However, small and multiple lines of crescent scales are only visible on one side, which appear just below the head to the tail of the artefact, which tapers to a slanted point. The artefact is in a worn but fair condition with a dark green patina.Similar examples are illustrated in Gorgon Bailey’s ‘Detector Finds 3’, 1997, pages 20-1. Bailey states that the ‘snake form belt hooks’ became popular during the 16th century, where an example can be seen in the portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, c. 1575. The fastener was part of a sword belt, and was used in place of the normal buckle. It is likely that these strap fittings would have been tinned or gilded. The snake belt hook would seem to have fallen from fashion by the 17th century, and remained so until the end of the 18th century, when it was favoured by the military (Bailey, page 20).