Dragon Sideplate

This artifact is a broken dragon sideplate (missing the head). It was found in Amherstburg, Ontario, on a site excavated by the University of Windsor in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and archaeologists from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries in 2004. Sideplates were decorative plates placed on the left side of flintlock firearms, such as muskets. They were placed to anchor the screws attaching the lock plate to the musket. Trade muskets often bore cast brass sideplates shaped as a dragon or a serpent. On this example, the dragon head is broken off. This artifact comes from a site that includes the home of Matthew Elliott (1739-1814), where he operated a trading post as an Agent of the British Indian Department between the end of the 18th and early 19th century.