Posts From March, 2016

March - Don't hang around 

Wednesday, March 9, 2016 3:20:00 PM Categories: Accessories Copper Metal Post-medieval

March's find of the month surfaced from ploughed land near Thetford. The object is a late 16th to 17th century post medieval sword hanger, which would have attached the scabbard - containing the sword - to a belt, using straps and rivets. This type is made from copper alloy, and it is very unusual to find a complete example.

Photograph of post-medieval sword hanger

The foliate decoration makes fragments readily identifiable and the individual hooks and various pieces are very common finds across the fields of Norfolk and England.  Given the type was so prolific it is surprising that a search failed to find a single original picture or surviving example of a hanger actually in use.  

There were many images of more sophisticated examples often made of silver, but perhaps, as the accessories of the common post-medieval man, this type would be used until worn-out or broken making it less likely for complete examples to survive. As such the owners would not be of sufficient social status to feature in portraits nor would their trusted long-serving possessions merit subsequent preservation like their more opulent equivalents.

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