Large Medieval Knight's Gilt Bronze Heraldic Horse Harness Roundel with Three Crowns for the Bishop of Ely

CIRCA 13TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.

2 in. (29.68 grams, 50 mm).

Discoid panel with reserved heater shield on foliage field; three crowns each with a median cross pommee upstand; mounted in a tiered gilt-bronze circular frame (possibly later).

Provenance

Found Romney Marsh area, Kent, 1990-2015.
Property of a Kent gentleman, a specialist medieval collector.

Literature

Cf. Ashley, S., Medieval Armorial Horse Furniture in Norfolk, East Anglian Archaeology 101, Dereham, 2002, items 197,198.

Footnotes

Two enamelled heraldic pendants of this shape are illustrated in Ashley (2002, fig. 21, nos. 197 and 198), both bearing the same decoration, the three crowns, which are the arms of the Bishop of Ely. Ashley describes them as a comparatively rare type (2002, 23). The blazon of the arms is given as 'Gules three crowns Or' (2002, 45). Horse-harness pendants date from the 12th to the 14th centuries, but were more common in the late 13th and early 14th centuries (Griffiths 1986). Similar records on the PAS database include NMS-6FF080, NMS-A4F8A2, LEIC-344ED2, WAW-600DE5, CAM-67BD16 (with suspension mount), WILT-9C5CEE.

CONDITION

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LOT 0322