Summary
Horse brass: Sun disc, consisting of central hemisphere pressed out of a circular shaped brass. Crenate border. Type: cast from 'nickel silver' alloy. Date: 1840s-1939.
"In the coastal areas and Scotland, brasses were often made of nickel as the salt air affected the brass". (See: http://www.tryusfirst.com/id22.htm)
The sun embodies the powers of creation and the source of life and light, and represents the celestial or spiritual influences wihch the Earth receives. (See 'Pengiun Dictionary of Symbols')
Physical Description
Item has the remains of two studs on back, possibly from the casting process. Silver is probably an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel, (nickel being about 18 percent of the alloy). For more information on nickel silver, German Silver and related alloys, see: http://pages.zoom.co.uk/leveridge/nickel1.html., and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_silver.
More Information
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Mr W. J. Haysom, 30 Jun 1982
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Date Made
England, Great Britain, 1840-1939
Production of horse brasses ceased with the introduction of the car in the 1930s. Nickel silver was produced in Britian from the 1840s. -
Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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References
[Link 1] viewed, 23.05.2008 LDH [Link 2] viewed, 23.05.2008 LDH [Link 3] viewed, 23.05.2008 LDH [Link 4] viewed, 23.05.2008 LDH
[Book] Chevalier, Jean & Gheerbrant, Alain. 1994. The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols., 1994
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Keywords
Amulets, Animals, Cultural Beliefs, Folklore, Harnesses, Heraldry, Horse Brasses, Rituals, Souvenirs, Symbols