Gilt-copper decorative harness fitting

This harness fitting was excavated by the amateur archaeologist William Gowland from the Akasaka dolmen group in Mino Province. It is a fine example of the decorative metalworker's skill. The elegant shape is offset by a continuous border of silver-headed imitation rivet heads. The whole is gilded with copper using the mercury amalgam technique. A piece of the original leather strap is still attached to the hole at the top.