POST MEDIEVAL STRAP FITTING

1575

A copper alloy, hooked strap fitting; an S shaped belt fastener of Post Medieval date, AD 1575 - 1900. It is S shaped and zoomorphic, having the head of a snake or bird (swan?) at each end. At one end the front of the zoomorphic head touches the central part of the body though this is possibly the result of corrosion products. Both sides of the fitting are decorated with mouldings in low relief. On one side are back to back crescents with a fleur-de-lis rising from the centre of the inner side; on the other are two transverse ridges, each with three petal, leaves or feathers extending along the body. The eyes of the snake heads are also moulded in low relief. The fastener displays a patchy, dark brown patina. It is 41.5mm long, 20mm wide and 5.4mm thick. It weighs 12.89gm.Similar examples are illustrated in Gordon Bailey's Detector Finds 3 (1997), pages 20-21. 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, in about 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).