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Description: | Medieval pottery figurine in the form of a stylised horse's head/neck. Modelled in the round with striations indicating the mane on the neck and forehead; the head is broken away from the body but is present, although damaged at the ears, one eye and along the snout; the surviving eye is formed by an impressed ring and dot - the eye is orange coloured and appears to have been applied separately. A short applied strip on the left side of the neck, behind the mane, perhaps indicates the bridle/reins. Degraded yellow-green glaze. Coarse very sandy fabric with reduced-fired grey core and oxidised-fired skin varying cream and orange; abundant angular white quartz sand inclusions (0.5mm-3mm) giving pimply appearence to surface. In two fragments - the head is broken away from the neck. Length (from the break at the neck to the forehead) 104mm, width (throat to mane) 80mm, thickness at base of neck 35mm, weight 182.8g + 48.1g.This is probably a fragment of a roof-finial tile, or possibly an aquamanile or other fancy pottery vessel fragment. The lack of a pouring spout through the head, and the coarseness of the fabric, perhaps preclude this from being an aquamanile / vessel.Blair & Ramsay, 1991 ("English Medieval Industries: craftsmen, techniques, products", Continuum) write 'Finials of stone, wood or pottery were used from the 11th century onwards to decorate the gable and the ridges of medieval roofs. Some were in the form of spikes, other like human faces, and some represented standing animals such as horses, bears, dragons or lions.' They note that ceramic tililng was first used during the medieval period in England during the 12th century, and that 'the earliest archaeological and documentary evidence for ridge tiles dates from the 13th century'.
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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