Ipswich Box Purse

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I went with the historical fittings, based off the purse fittings held at Ipswich Museums. There are a couple of differences; there's some ring and dot decoration that isn't on the original; and the strap end is different. The original is possibly a zoomorphic figure of a serpents head, but here I've gone with something simpler. We know there was ring and dot decoration used in period, but it is speculative used in this context. However, I've used two pieces of sheet bronze, that I've brazed together, which seems to be the primary method of making these (certainly in later periods). I felt it was appropriate considering the "Pictish" spirals, as the wonkiness of my stamping means one or two of them do look a bit spiral like ! ;) The main 3 interacting spirals are taken from George Bain's book, and are based on designs found in the Book of Kells. It's freely available as a pdf download and is well worth having if your interested in knotwork of the Emerald Isles. That's obviously a bit later than the Ipswich finds, but sources are sparse and creating original pieces is extremely hard. The decoration across the top of the box purse is however, period; though not exactly geographically local. It's actually taken from one of the Valsgarde seax scabbards, but apparently there may be a connection between Vendel and East Anglia! The 'lid' is formed around an wooden, Ash, base, with the leather sewn around it and hide glued in place. It's then tooled and decorated, before finally having the fittings added. The fittings are, in part, what holds the whole thing together. The centre shield holds the strap that goes through the buckle; the shields either side are riveted through the lid, but also through the tongues from the straps that form the belt loops. Giving a mechanical attachment point between lid and body. The long thin bar across the top also does this, and is there to add support to the leather as it hinges open. The hinge points are the two rectangular plates on the belt loops, with the loops being secured by the same rectangular plates. There are no surviving, leather originals, so, that is all speculative, but I doubt I would have come up with it without the Ipswich fittings to guide me. Show more