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Description: | Large cast copper-alloy object which appears to be part of an elaborate bridle cheekpiece. The object is incomplete, and the original shape is uncertain. It is basically flat, and arranged around a central oval perforation (16 x 12.5 mm). On one side is a short projecting arm 8 mm wide, which has a raised rounded boss just before two breaks which indicate a bifurcation. The rest of the area around the perforation has an elaborate outline, perhaps intended to depict an animal's head in profile. There is a long snout with a knob-like nose at the end; much of the snout is taken up by an oval depression, with a rough base, which also occurs on the reverse and may have been intended to represent an open mouth. A D-shaped projection at the top of the snout may be an eye; a second bump at the back of the head may be a lappet. The back of the head stretches nearly to the projecting arm, curving around the perforation. The animal's neck curves around the other side of the perforation and has an undulating outline. Details are picked out in rectangular punchmarks which may have been applied with a roulette. There is a border of punchmarks which runs around the lappet, eye, jaws and neck but which stops short of joining the neck to the back of the head. This border also runs from the back of the neck down the projecting arm, turns at a sharp angle and then runs out to encircle the central projection. The lappet is emphasised by a lozenge of punchmarks, the eye by a deep chevron beneath, and the end of the neck by a small saltire and shallower chevron. The depression forming the ?mouth does not appear to be outlined, although this area is very worn. From the broken end of the projecting arm to the tip of the nose, the object measures 65 mm; it is about 42 mm wide at right angles to this. The projecting arm is 5 mm thick, and the thickness decreases steadily across the object to 3 mm at the other end. The boss on the projecting arm is 11 mm thick. Bridle cheekpieces need loops for the attachment of straps, and they can have quite elaborate decorative pieces in the shape of scrolly animals. They also tend to have rounded bosses. This is a very large and heavy example. | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | 1000
1100 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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