Furniture fixtures?

[Army]

From a Spanish wreck of around 1680. Made of brass. Large spike in the back. My guess is that they were attached to furniture. Any suggestions?

 

[ToddsPoint]

Two headed eagle might be Russia or Austria. Gary

 

[Army]

Gary, thank you for your input. Was also thinking Austria but I have found a wide use of it from different countries. The wreck was Spanish and had a crate with hundreds of them in different sizes. The spike in the back is too long to attach to clothing so that is why I was thinking furniture.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Those are some beautiful relic finds Army!
My first thought was that it was intended to be affixed to a government or military document box.
Here is a picture of a double-headed eagle in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Dave


Double Headed Eagle Motif

The double-headed eagle motif appears to have its ultimate origin in the Ancient Near East, especially in Hittite iconography. It re-appeared during the High Middle Ages, from circa the 10th or 11th century, and was notably used by the Byzantine Empire, but 11th or 12th century representations have also been found originating from Islamic Spain, France and the Serbian principality of Raška. From the 13th century onward, it became even more widespread, and was used by the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and the Mamluk Sultanate within the Islamic world, and by the Holy Roman Empire, Serbia and Russia within the Christian world. Used during the late Byzantine Empire as a dynastic emblem of the Palaiologoi, it was adopted during the late Medieval to Early Modern period in the Holy Roman Empire on one hand, and in Orthodox principalities Serbia and Russia on the other, representing an augmentation of the (single-headed) eagle or Aquila associated with the Roman Empire.

In a few places, among them the Holy Roman Empire and Russia, the motif was further augmented to create the less prominent triple-headed eagle. It is also used in the municipal arms of a number of cities in Germany, Netherlands and Serbia, the arms and flag of the city and Province of Toledo, Spain, and the arms of the town of Velletri, Italy. An English heraldic tradition, apparently going back to the 17th century, attributes coats of arms with double-headed eagles to the Anglo-Saxon earls of Mercia, Leofwine and Leofric.

 

[DCMatt]

Gary, thank you for your input. Was also thinking Austria but I have found a wide use of it from different countries. The wreck was Spanish and had a crate with hundreds of them in different sizes. The spike in the back is too long to attach to clothing so that is why I was thinking furniture.

Where the swords were made...

 

[DCMatt]

How long are the spikes on the back?

They look to be consistent with leather ornaments of that period.

 

[Army]

About 1.5 inches long