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Description: | A probably incomplete cast copper alloy mount from a box, casket or item of furniture in the form of a female head, dating to the 1st/ 2nd century AD (length: 43mm; width: 30mm; thickness at nose of head: 14mm; weight: 37.26g). The female face and its features are highly defined at the front of the mount. The hair reaches to down in an overall crescent shape and stops in line with the nose. The hair is parted in the centre and is curled back to probably indicate the hair being in a bun at the back of the head. The arched brow/ ridge above the eyebrows and the small pointed nose are connected together by a protruding and ridged T-shaped form. The nose is slightly damaged at the point. Below the brow, the eyes are clearly defined below an arched singular eyebrow and are formed by a sub-oval ring with oval pellet inside. Below the nose, the mouth is slightly defined by an incised line and a protruding chin underneath. Overall, the face has a rounded appearance with a shaped and slightly splayed neck underneath, with two linear grooves running across the rounded neck at the base as decoration and to possibly also mark the collar of clothing? At the bottom of the artefact, the base has a rounded half-circular shape. At the back of the mount, the artefact is hollow with a thickly cast outline of the face seen from the front. In the hollow, there is a considerable amount of probable wood and earth still remaining (as well as possible lead?), where the artefact could have been attached to a casket or box. There is no indication of rivets or fastening to attach the mount onto a larger object. Overall, the artefact is in a slightly worn and good condition with a dark green/ brown patina. According to Sally Worrell, decorative mounts that would have been fixed to boxes or furniture and depicting female heads/ busts are quite rare, although a few have been recorded through the Portable Antiquities Scheme (eg: BH-84F731 & SF-10636). A similar but crude example in a native style is illustrated in Allason-Jones & Roger Miket??s ??The Catalogue of small finds from South Shields Roman Fort??, 1984, pages 225-6, ref no 775, where there is also no evidence of the shank still surviving. Additionally, a more elaborate example is illustrated in Brian Read??s ??Metal Artefacts of Antiquity??, 2001, pages 2 & 5, ref no 21, which was found in West Wiltshire and is described as a figurative and three-dimensional mount from a vessel or furniture, also with a bun hairstyle. This example is dated to the 1st/ 2nd century AD. | Subjects: | mount | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Johnson, Caroline - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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