Medieval silver quatrefoil shaped ring-brooch

Code: 10896

This is a complete medieval silver ring-brooch, dating to the 13th - 14th century AD. Ring-brooches are the most common type medieval brooch to survive and had a practical function: to fasten tunics, especially at the neck. Shaped as rings, with a long central pin, these brooches varied enormously in size and could be tiny, smaller than a fingernail. Ring-brooches were made of costly gold or silver, or of much cheaper copper or pewter. They were worn mostly until the late fourteenth century when changing fashions in dress included more closely tailored clothes and the growing use of button fastenings.

This example is decorated in the shape of a quatrefoil, close parallel having been recorded from Buckinghamshire BUC-0339D6 and Cumbria LANCUM-E18C2B. The pin is original and intact. Such a brooch would have once secured woolen fabrics. A nice example from an old collection.

OBJECT: Ring-brooch

CULTURE: Medieval

DATE: c. 1300 - 1400 AD

MATERIAL: Silver

SIZE: 23mm x 3mm

WEIGHT:  4.07 grams

PROVENANCE: Ex. Tom Cederlind Collection, USA. Originally found in England.