Tudor Period Rosette Clothes Fastener

£ 300.00

A stunning Tudor period, silver-gilt clothes fastener, featuring a central flower and trefoil details. The fastening is square in form with a thin silver plate, on top of which sits a four-petaled flower. The central disc is domed and coated with gold, whilst the petals are gently curved and have striated texture detailing, and naturalistic feathered edges. The flower is framed by arching bands of gold plated silver, with a ribbed texture. At each corner sits a trefoil of granules, with a further single granule placed between each arch. The reverse is flat and displays small traces of gold gilding. Small irregular stumps indicate the presence of metal attachments such as pins, which have broken off at some point in antiquity.

Date: Circa 16th Century AD
Provenance: From a Wiltshire jewellery collection. Acquired on the Uk art market between 1979 and 1996, and from a 1970's collection.
Condition: Excellent condition. Some of the gold coating on the central disc and outer trefoils has worn away. The very tips of two of the main petals are missing, due to age. On the reverse there is signs of modern repair to one of the trefoils. The attachment apparatus on the reverse has broken off at some point in antiquity.

SOLD

SKU: MJ-33 Category: Tags: ,

Clothing hooks and fasteners were a popular decorative accessory during the Medieval and Tudor period. The function of the fasteners were to hold together garments, to drape up skirts or to simply be used for decorative purposes. Hooks would prevent skirts from getting dirty when outside or were used to display rich fabrics from underneath. These beautiful accessories were also used to fasten collars and gowns without disrupting the patterns featured on the clothing.

To discover more on ancient metalwork, please see our relevant blog post: Decorative Metalwork Techniques

Weight 6.9 g
Dimensions L 3.1 x W 3.2 x H 0.6 cm
Culture

Metal

Region

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