This intricately decorated early medieval harness pendant dates to AD 475-570, and was found in Quarley, Hampshire, on 13 July. It is made of copper-alloy, which has been cast and then gilded to achieve a gold finish.
Pendants such as these were attached to harnesses using a separate hinged mount, and were often highly stylised, with designs reflecting the rider’s allegiance or social status. The decoration on this example is known as Salin’s Style I, a popular Anglo-Saxon motif which features anthropomorphic and zoomorphic imagery.
The crescent shape of the plate has a central anthropomorphic mask, which is made up of a triangular nose, round eyes, a small circular mouth, and a curling beard which splits below. Two curls on either side of the mask connect it to flanking bird heads, which have curved beaks, one of which has been lost due to an old break, and brows crested with curled tendrils. An arched border above the mask consists of punched dot borders, and the reverse of the pendant is flat and undecorated. The double-lugged suspension hoop would have been used to attach the pendant to a horse’s harness.
