File:Book clasp back (FindID 245908).jpg

English: The largest part of the clasp is narrow and square. Two rivets can be seen at the edge of the interior which would have held the strap in place. The hollow area is 2mm deep and the clasp itself is 4mm thick at this point. At the opposite edge of the square is a smaller square set at a 45 degree angle from the large. It is raised (making the clasp 9mm thick at this point) and slightly stepped with a small (1.5mm) hole in the top which goes all the way through to the back, where it is larger (4.5mm). The stepped base of the corner of the smaller square widens out slightly and forms a loop (now partially broken).

The loop is 3mm in diameter and would have held a fitting which in turn would have been connected to another clasp fixed to the other cover of the book.

The back is flat with traces of gilt. There is iron corrosion where the rivets are fixed and are corroding.

The surface is etched with floral designs which flare out from the upper left corner. The etched area is infilled with gilt. Cross-hatching can be seen in some of the remaining gilt. The raised small square has a four-petalled flower, outlined in gilt. The hole is slightly off centre and so emerges at 11 o’clock of the centre of the flower.

The gilt surface is cracking and corroding and requires conservation.

The clasp would have been attached to the end of a strap on one cover of the book and the hole in the underside of the raised area would possibly have fitted over a peg fixed to the cover for added security.

Similar clasps have been reported to PAS and recorded as IOW-108BF1, SF-7379, SUR-9222A1 and HAMP-1901.