Girdle Hangers

Summary

By Diana Kachman
These particular girdle hangers were found in a grave in West Stow Heath, an archaeological site that rose to importance when an Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered in 1849. The woman buried in this grave from the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village was most likely of higher status and her girdle hangers were made of bronze material, with the front of the hangers either having replaced fur or hair fibers. Girdle hangers reflect fashion and women's status in the Anglo-Saxon period. They would symbolize women controlling access to the home as they resembled keys but were not actual keys that could open certain doors or areas. This gendered distinction advocates for women’s place and domain being the household, the sphere of a homemaker. The meaning of the role of “homemaker,” however, differed between social classes. Women from higher social groups were most likely to take on a supervisory role rather than a hands-on one while lower-status women were likely to have taken on physical work pertaining to the household. I recreated the girdle hangers by cutting out cardboard pieces and painting them bronze. I used a ballpoint pen to create indents and used clay as backings as well as to make the handle. I connected all of the different pieces with hot glue. I attempted to make the recreation look like the object rather than function or feel like it. It can indeed hang from a girdle, but it is not as steady as it would be when made from metal and with an actual suspension hoop. Still, a girdle hanger is not necessarily meant to be functional, acting more as a type of copper-alloy accessory/ jewelry. The key shape is more of a statement of “I hold the keys to the household” as the domestic sphere was the domain of women. Almost everything, then, feels symbolic about the hanger. Therefore, I think I made a fair choice in choosing style and presentation over functionality.