|
Date: |
|
Description: | A lead-alloy (pewter) horn book dating from the 17th century. Only the bottom edge of a once rectangular or circular tablet survives. On the front are rows of letters, probably the alphabet. The legible part reads "[...]W (X) / (Y) Z W D". The last letters may be the maker's initials.The reverse is decorated with a circular design of a double border of zig zag lines, and the central motif of a many-petalled flower on a cross-hatched background. The petals are narrow and elliptical, and the design is similar to those found on lead-alloy tokens and also on pilgrims' ampullae.The fragment is damaged in the middle where it has been bent and straightened at some point, causing stress marks in the metal. There is also a notch at the base of the bend which may have been where the handle attached or may just be damage.The broken edge is cut at an angle suggesting it was cut with shears or scissors. The angle of the cut changes at the bend, indicating that it was bent in half when it was cut. The fragment has a grey patina.Full-size hornbooks were used as teaching aids, usually for the alphabet but occasionally for numbers, or the Lord's Prayer or similar texts. The name is from the most common type, which was in the form of a wooden board with written lettering covered by a sheet of transparent horn for protection. Similar devices made in other materials take the same name, although it is possible that the much smaller lead-alloy examples may have been used as toys. It is common for horn books to have mistakes in the lettering; the letter in the wrong order or reversed. DENO-6BFFD1 demonstrates some of these mistakes and also points out that Benet's Artefacts illustrates another example which is almost exactly the same, with the same mistakes in the alphabet, suggesting that they may have been cast from the same mould and thereby 'mass produced' for sale, rather than made to order. The finder of this example reports that Benet's number 0201 on page 99 is from the same pattern as this example, strengthening the arguement for mass production. Compare also LIN-5FB027 and LIN-16BF84.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
More Like this...
-
TOY
Post-medieval cast lead-alloy hornbook of…
-
TOY
Post-medieval cast lead hornbook of…
-
-
TOY
A fragment of a lead,…
-
TOY
An incomplete post medieval lead…
-
TOY
An almost complete cast lead…
-
TOY
Post-medieval toy hornbook made from…
-
TOY
A fragment from a lead-alloy…
-
TOY
Early post-medieval lead-alloy toy 'hornbook',…
-
TOY
Cast lead object of uncertain…
|