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Description: | Lead alloy toy, known as a whirligig or buzz wheel, dating from the post-medieval or early modern period (1600-1800). The whirligig is broadly circular in plan being formed from a sheet of lead alloy. The edges of the toy have a rough crudely set serrated edge. It seems likely that this edge was created with a knife or pair of shears and was set out using a form of compass. The evidence for this is a crudely scratched but very regular incised circle; this is present on one face only. This circle has subsequently been used as a marker or guide to gage the depth of the cuts which form the triangular serrations. In a number of places this line has been cut over, suggesting that the depth of the serrations was either not important or that the toy was created by someone unskilled or not used to working metal ? possibly a child. The serrations are not regular and in a number of areas the triangles are not cut at all. This gives the toy a very home made appearance. Through the centre of the disc are two relatively even closely spaced pierced holes. These holes have been created from the face with the incised circle and the reverse face has been slightly trimmed. There is no evidence of wear on these two holes which have a diameter of 3.4mm each. There is very little evidence for decoration on the buzz wheel; however, the face without the incised circle has a series of crude scratched parallel lines which may be deliberate or could be abrasion in the ploughsoil. The whirligig measures 53.2 mm in diameter, is 2.9mm thick and weighs 46.13 grams. The whirligig is a mid grey colour with a light uneven patina which covers some surfaces. The edges and surfaces of the toy have been abraded in the ploughsoil and this movement has caused the whirligig to become irregular in plan and profile. A series of cracks and stress marks are present where the wheel has been bent. In the areas affected by abrasion a light white powdery corrosion product is present. A number of these toys are illustrated in Egan and Forsyth: Toys Trifles and Trinkets pages 387-391. The closest parallel in this volume is Design 8 (fig 13:8) p390. The dating of these toys is uncertain but Egan and Forsyth suggest a 17th ? 18th century date, one of these toys has come from an archaeological context dated 1675-1700. | 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: | 1600
1800 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Peter Reavill | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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