My Kingdom for a Heraldic Horse Pendant

Well not a kingdom perhaps but you could always try haggling if you want a piece of history almost a thousand years old…

A quite astonishing find by a metal detectorist, this pendant would have been worn round the neck of a horse which was part of Richard the Lionheart’s forces. The distinctive coat of arms features a lion rampant standing on one leg with a separated twin tail. In the artist’s impression of Richard in the Holy Land around 1190, you can see he’s used round pendants in place of the ones which would have actually been used.

It’s not every day that you chance upon treasures like these. Just Saturdays. At Charing Cross Market.