POST MEDIEVAL STRAP FITTING

1500

A complete cast copper alloy zoomorphic strap fitting or belt hook, of Early Post Medieval to Modern dating (1500 to 1950 AD).The belt hook is S shaped with an oval cross section. A zoomorphic or animal head terminal is present at either end, with a rounded nose, and circular eye. At the centre of the S is a 'waisted' area comprising a central ridge, with two (2) oval annulets to either side of a short raised bar.An incomplete copper alloy circular sectioned loop is still present around one of the animal heads. It has a diameter of 8.72 mm and is 1.79 mm thick.The strap fitting measures 30.54 mm in length, 14.31 mm wide and 3.79 mm thick. It weighs 3.8 g.The belt hook is a mid green colour, with an even surface patina. Abrasion, caused by movement whilst within the plough soil, has resulted in a loss of some of the original surface detail.The strap fitting represents two stylised snakes joined together in the middle. The earliest snake-form fasteners appear on portraits of the early post-Medieval period, often in association with sword-belts. Bailey (1997, 20) 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.Read has published a similar belt fitting as #822 (Read, 2008, 230) which he has dated to c. mid 16th to c. early 17th Century, possibly from a sword belt. However the style is a relatively long lived one, persisting into the 20th Century.Several similar belt fittings have been recorded on the PAS database, all of Early Post Medieval dating (1500 to 1700 AD): WMID-F55797 from Derbyshire; DENO-EEBBD4 from Lincolnshire; SWYOR-D7BF04 from North Lincolnshire; SWYOR-EC2FB8 from North Yorkshire; WMID-11DAC3 from Warwickshire and WILT-A862F5 & WILT-468492 from Wiltshire.Reference:Bailey, G. 1997. Detector Finds 3. Greenlight Publishing. Witham.Read, B. 2008. Hooked Clasps and Eyes. Portcullis Publishing. Langport.