Silver, 8.26 grams, 92.71 mm. Circa 15th-16th century AD. A silver bodkin dress pin with an extended point. The upper end of the shaft divides into four rods which are wound over each other into a ring chain, the upper ends being twisted into a loop. On the upper shaft below the divide is an illegible stamped mark comprising two or three characters, now partly abraded, in a variant of Gothic Textura script. Bodkin dress pins with stamped owners' initials are a late medieval fashion, and the present example is unusual in having the ring chain feature which is more typical of early medieval (pre-Conquest) metalwork. Metal dress pins with wound-wire heads were introduced in the 14th century, but the wire is usually tightly wound to produce a sphere or hemisphere. Reference: Egan, G. & Pritchard, F. Dress Accessories 1150-1450, Museum of London, Woodbridge, 2008, p.299ff. Extremely fine condition. Provenance: not found in the UK, ex an old English collection formed in the 1950's.