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Description: | An incomplete cast copper-alloy rotary key dating from the medieval period. Mass: 27.7g; extant length: 57.6mm; width 30.6mm; thickness: 12.8mm (across the loop at the rear of the bow). The key consists of the bow, a suspension loop at the rear, and part of the shank. The bow is broadly lozenge shaped in plan with a circular perforation in each of the four corners. There is a small lobe protruding from the top and bottom corners of the bow and a suspension loop to the rear. The suspension loop can be seen to be sub-circular when the key is viewed end-on. The shank is sub-circular in section, with two distinct flattened facets on the top or bottom side. There are two ribs running around the shank at the bow end and a central perforation in the opposite end, which is broken. The break on the shank does not appear to be recent. The key has a green finely pitted surface.In the Museum of London's "Medieval Catalogue" (1940 p133-144), Ward Perkins has introduced a classification system for door and chest keys. The key described in this record is most closely related to his Type VI. Ward Perkins describes the type: "They are characterized by the solid shank, bored at the end to leave a conical hole, by the massive bit, and by the elaborate form of the bow. The latter may be lobed or lozenge-shaped or a combination of both ..." (p140). He also states that an additional feature on a certain number of these keys is a loop at the top for suspension. Ward Perkins dates a number of closely related copper alloy keys of Type VI to the 14th and 15th centuries, and argues that the suspension loop is probably a 15th century feature. This is the date suggested for the rotary key recorded here.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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