A “unique” Tudor jewel pendant inscribed with the initials of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragón has been discovered by a Birmingham cafe owner who took a metal detectorist just six months before the spectacular find.
A heart-shaped gold chain and pendant, dating from the early 16th century, is decorated with intertwined red and white roses – a common Tudor motif – and a pomegranate bush, the symbol of Henry’s first wife.
Charlie Clarke, a 34-year-old cafe owner, is heading home after a metal detector has turned up pieces of a car battery and scrap metal next to a pond on farmland in Warwickshire, in England’s West Midlands, in 2021.
“I’ve done quite a bit of digging to be honest,” he said. “But I had a few more swings and the sound was so high, I knew there was going to be something to dig for. Then I saw it was gold. . . . You never thought something like me would happen.
When Clarke brought the pendant to the British Museum, the curators were initially wary of declaring it Tudor, wanting to assure themselves that it was not a 19th-century forgery.
“The majority of people who see this in a museum think it’s almost fantastic,” said Rachel King, curator of the European Renaissance at the British Museum.
“In the British Museum we have the largest collection of objects in precious metals from the early Tudor period. There is nothing like this – it tends to be smaller. This kind of condition has not survived.”
But after examining the pendant’s gold content, maker’s tool marks and solder and enamel components, curators concluded that the article was genuine.
King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon © Active Arts / Prism Archives / Alamy
Made around the time of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, a lavish festival-cum-summit between Henry and Francis I of France in 1520, the pendant is an example of what could be used in a time when small portraits still exist.
Rarity also lies in the fallout from Henry and Katherine’s divorce. The pieces may have been owned by people who wanted to show their closeness to the court or their loyalty to the queen, King said at the British Museum. When the marriage ends, the object begins to disappear.
Still for its value, the pendant was unveiled at the museum on Tuesday as part of the annual announcement of the discovery made by the community. For 2021, the most recent arrests, a total of 45,581 were recorded, including 1,085 cases of so-called “treasures” or precious metals over 300 years old.
About 96 percent of the finds were made by metal detectorists, whose hobby has gained even more interest after the success of the BBC TV show. The Detectorsstarring actors Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones.
If the museum expresses interest in purchasing the pendant, it will enter a formal appraisal process. King said it would have significant monetary value, as it “has been designated as being of national interest”.