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Description: | A complete cast copper alloy pear-shaped seal box with silvering and enamelled decoration, dating to the Roman period, between AD 100 ? 300 (length: 45.5mm; width: 20.5mm; thickness: 9.5mm; weight: 13.40g). The seal box is flat in side-section with an elongated pear-shaped lid, terminating in a rounded knob. There are small traces of silvering around the outside edge of the decorated front of the box, including the rounded terminal knob. The inner/ central heart-shaped design still has orange/ red enamel intact with a thin copper alloy and silvered border round the outside. The enamel in the outer field has a glass-like opaque appearance, but would have originally been a deeper glossy red enamel than the orange-red enamel in the central heart. According to Jane-Thompson Webb, a conservator in Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, this appearance could have been influenced by a higher level of sand/ quartz within the enamel when fired, which would have also given the enamel a glossy effect as previously mentioned. The outside edge of the front of the artefact is also marked by a thin copper alloy and silvered rim/ border. At the top of the seal box, the hinge mechanism is complete, still linking the front and back parts of the artefact together. The mechanism is held together by a corroded iron axis bar, with the ends clearly visible either side of the double-lugged mechanism. The front and back sides of the seal box have slightly moved apart, enabling the inner recessed areas to be seen. Additionally, a single notch can be seen to the left and right of the side of the box where the cord would have entered the box. The back of the artefact is flat and undecorated with three perforated holes (diameter: 3mm): two at the top and one at the bottom. Overall, the seal box is in a slightly worn but good condition with a light green patina. Similar examples are illustrated in Crummy, N, 1983, ?Colchester Archaeological Report 2: The Roman small finds from excavations in Colchester 1971-9?, pages 103-4, ref nos 2523, 2525 & 2527. | 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: | 100
300 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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