Pendant 1300–50; Middle English pendaunt < Anglo-French; Middle French pendant, noun use of present participle of pendre to hang < Vulgar Latin *pendere for Latin pendēre. See pend, -ant

This estimated 700 year-old Medieval pendant found in Osmington with a metal detector still blows me away.

Paul Rainford, 53, of Littlemoor Road, Preston found the medieval pendant with a green stone engraved with a woman’s portrait in a farmer’s ploughed field on March 6.

“I honestly thought it was a Victorian pendant but when I got home and cleaned the mud off it, I saw the medieval writing and I thought that’s quite old.’”

A report by the British Museum said the pendant is silver gilt and dates from the 13th or early 14th century.

The 35mm-long pendant is set with an intaglio of green stone and a mount frames the stone leaving the back exposed.

On the front of the mount are inscribed the letters ‘AGLA’ which was a popular charm in the Middle Ages.

Coroner Michael Johnston said it signifies ‘Athe Gebir Leilan Adoni’ meaning ‘Thou Art Mighty For Ever, Oh Lord’.

He said the charm was invoked to prevent fever and the stone was exposed deliberately to provide contact between it and the skin of the wearer. The stone, along with the inscription is likely to have had magical significance.

—“Medieval pendant found in village,” Daily Echo

The tones of the green stone are so eerily similar to work from my series, Anodynus.

“Sekhmet,” 16.5x21in, acrylic & fabric on canvas