|
Date: |
|
Description: | Copper alloy brooch zoomorphic brooch in the form of an insect with a 3-dimensional body. It originally had a sprung pin, which is now missing along with the catchplate. There is damage to the wings and patches of heavy corrosion especially around the head and the spring fitting. The spring was held in a semi-cylindrical housing joined to the back of the wings (and now obscured by iron stained corrosion products) and the chord held by a rear hook, which is now incomplete. The wings are nearly flat and have traces of a finely incised marginal line, with zigzags/crosses outside this line around the top and a single arc across the widest part. The body is lentoid in outline and humped in profile, with a hollow area as cast on the back. The convex faces adjoining the wings have similar fine incised lines across them and stand slightly proud of the body with a curved edge which is obscured by corrosion on the right hand side (perhaps these represent second wing sets?). The body/head separation is marked by two transverse moulded ribs, the upper one being beaded. Below this the eye areas protrude and although badly corroded, there are traces of a narrow beaded ring. The head then apparently tapers to a blunt point. Behind the head there is the stub of a small catchplate. Surviving length 27.4mm, surviving width 18mm, maximum body thickness 6mm. This is most closely paralled by the "wasp" brooches described by Hattatt (BoA 1987, p249-251). Another sprung brooch from Kidlington, Oxon, (Hunter & Kirk, Oxoniensa, 1952-3, fig26, no6) which Hattatt also sketches differs in the detail of the spring hook mechanism and in the placing of the wings relative to the body, which results in an insect less like a wasp or bee. The Kidlington example was white metal plated and this is possible, but not surviving on this one. The rear hook holding the spring chord might suggest an early date.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
More Like this...
-
BROOCH
Copper alloy brooch zoomorphic brooch…
-
BROOCH
Incomplete early Roman cast copper…
-
Brooch
Incomplete copper alloy two-piece Colchester…
-
BROOCH
An incomplete cast and wrought…
-
BROOCH
An incomplete cast and wrought…
-
BROOCH
Incomplete copper alloy two-piece Colchester…
-
Brooch
The object is an incomplete…
-
BROOCH
The object is an incomplete…
-
BROOCH
The object is an incomplete…
-
BROOCH
Incomplete cast copper alloy Roman…
|