The silver thimble, which was discovered in
Pentyrch in January 2017, bears the inscription ‘I AM YOUVRS' (I am yours),
indicating it was originally a gift to a loved one.
Museum Manager, Victoria Rogers, said:
"Thimbles of this sort were popular with the 17thcentury nobility and gentry
would have been relatively common at the time.
"These days, they're quite a rare find -
during the civil war, women sympathetic to the Parliamentarian side often
donated them to the cause and they were melted down so the silver could be used
for other purposes."
The thimble, which is missing its domed top,
was declared ‘treasure' by the Assistant Coroner for South Wales Central, Ms
Rachel Knight earlier this week and will now be valued by the British Museum
before being handed to the Museum of Cardiff to go on display early next year.
Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Cllr
Peter Bradbury said: "The Museum of Cardiff is all about the people who
have lived, worked and played in Cardiff over the centuries and this thimble will
help shine a new light on what was happening here in the 17thcentury.
"It's a really important piece for the
museum - not only will it be the first treasure object in the museum's
collection, it's also one of the few pieces held by the museum that pre-dates
the Victorians, making it a great opportunity to expand on the story the museum
tells about Cardiff."
Project Officer for the National Lottery
Heritage Fund fundedSaving
Treasures; Telling Storiesproject,
who helped fund the museum's acquisition of this thimble, Dr Rhianydd Biebrach,
said: "The Saving Treasures; Telling Stories project is grateful to the
finder of this rare treasure object for the responsible reporting of his
discovery, which can now go on display locally, in the community where it was
found.
"We encourage all metal detectorists to
get their finds recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme Cymru, in order
that the knowledge provided by objects such as this is not lost."
Thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund
the Museum of Cardiff is currently able to match all donations made £1 for £1.
To support the museum, visit:https://cardiffmuseum.com/support-us/