Medieval Knight's Enamelled Bronze 'Rochefort Family' Heraldic Horse Harness Pendant

Comprising a quantity of mixed items including a large bell, buckles, coins, buttons, and others, most fragmentary. 732 grams total, 10-57 mm



Found St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK. Acquired from the finder in 2008. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman.

Standing four-square on a rectangular base, in the heraldic 'statant' pose; the head raised and mouth open, mane represented by radiating curved scales on the neck and back with nicked edges, long recurved tail with characteristic feathered finial; possibly a gaming piece. 56.9 grams, 49 mm wide

Fine condition.

Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Navestock, Essex, UK, in 2010. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no 114450-195656.

Stephen Pollington writes: 'The purpose of the piece must remain the object of speculation but one context suggests itself immediately: the 12th century set of character figures carved in ivory, discovered on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. Stylistically, the Romanesque lion must be dated a little later than these figures since it displays classic 'heraldic' features associated with the medieval period, but the quality of the gilding and the nature of the bronze are suggestive of the Anglo-Scandinavian style of workmanship. As a gaming piece, it would be tempting to regard the roaring lion as a natural emblem of aggressive kingship. An alternative suggested use is that of a casket fitting. Caskets and coffers with heraldic decaoration are a known feature of wealthy medieval households, such as that of St. Louis now in the Louvre, Paris ('a small coffer, decorated with enamel medallions and heraldic shields, includes the arms of Louis IX of France and his mother Blanche of Castile among twenty-one members of the French nobility from the early thirteenth century' in the words of Audrey L. Jacobs) or the 'Minnekastchen' in Nurnberg's Germanisches Nationalmuseum (inventory HG 216). Such caskets were richly furnished with decorative detailing. A possible parallel was found at Knocking in Shropshire in 2019 and recorded with the PAS (reference WREX-ADF3E6); this lion is also modelled in the round, and its pose is 'statant gardant' with a similar (though less well-defined) double-curved tail. The integrally modelled tail is perhaps delicate for a gaming piece or casket mount and would have been easily damaged in use. Therefore, the piece might be an item of heraldic tomb furniture, perhaps similar to the carved and gilded wooden lion figurine which decorated the cap attached to the helm of the Black Prince in Canterbury cathedral.

Formed as a cross-crosslet, the symbol of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, with punched-point border. 2.14 grams, 28 mm



Found East Anglia, UK. Acquired early 2000s. Property of a Stowmarket, UK, gentleman.

The 'Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem' was an order of knighthood under the protection of the Pope, formed around 1099 AD by Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the First Crusade. It was established for the protection of pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land and was recognised by a Papal Bull in about 1113 AD.