Harness ornament

Status

Not on view

Label Text

This brass ornament representing the Custis family crest may have once adorned the leather harness of one of John Parke Custis's horses. It was excavated in 1936 from the site of the blacksmith shop at Mount Vernon, suggesting that the ornament may have been brought there for repairs.

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Date1750-1780

Geography Probably made - England

Medium/TechniqueCopper alloy

DimensionsOverall: 2 1/4 in. x 2 1/8 in. x 9/16 in. (5.72 cm x 5.41 cm x 1.42 cm)

Credit LineMount Vernon Archaeology Collection (found at the site of the Blacksmith's shop)

Object numberW-1127

DescriptionCast brass harness ornament in the form of an eagle's head above a wreath or torse; on the reverse are the shanks of five tangs located at the top, the beak, the center, and the lower corners.
Published ReferencesJoseph McMillan, "Changes of Arms in Colonial North America: The Strange Case of Custis," in The Coat of Arms 3rd seri. 11 (2015), no. 230, 127.

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