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Description: | Cast copper-alloy rotary key. Medieval, c. 15th century.Length: 88.9mm.Mass: 53.0g.The key has a lozenge shaped bow, with a circular perforation in each of the four corners and a lobe at the top and bottom. There is a loop at the end of the bow and a collar where the bow joins the shank. The shank is sub-circular in section with a central perforation within its terminal above the large bit. The top of the shank is decorated with incised grooves in a zig-zag pattern, although the design is unclear on much of the shank due to the surface condition of the key.The key has a well-developed brown patina, with some brown adhesions, probably a result of its time in the ground. Where the patina has been lost, the surface is green.This is a Type VI key (see the Museum of London's "Medieval Catalogue" (Ward-Perkins, 1940 p133-144).Type VI keys, "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). Ward-Perkins 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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