£100
Medieval purse bar. Formed of a central boss with two long arms that extend on either side. Inscribed and filled niello on both sides, AVE MARIA G(R)ACIA PLENA dOMINVS TECVM. "Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with you". Copper-alloy, 175mm x 18mm, 68.3g.
Purse bars with niello inlaid decoration and zoomorphic mouldings at the bases of arms are classified by Ward-Perkins (1940: 164) as type A1 date to the mid-15th to mid-16th century. There are many fragments of purse bars recorded on the PAS database; KENT-BB3F94 also has a figure depicted on the body. The figure is flanked by a 'V' and 'I' and has been suggested as possibly depicting King Henry VI. Other examples with zoomorphic terminals includes SOM-1C9C43 discovered in Dorset and DOR-BFA561 recorded from Somerset.
Ref: Ward-Perkins, J.B., (1940) The London Museum Medieval Catalogue. London : HMSO
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