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Description: | A Roman copper-alloy mount in the form of a horse's head, which emerges from a flat backplate. The head is shown in three dimensions, and details are shown by a combination of fine mouldings and incised lines. The neck is pointed oval in section and tapers to the head. The head is shown semi-naturalistically. It has pointed ears, behind both of which is a pair of incised crescents, presumably representing folds in the skin. The horse has thick brow-ridges, below which is a pointed oval eye with a recessed pellet centre. The snout is elongated and terminates with two recessed pellets representing the nostrils. The mouth is open, which gives the head as a whole a sense of energy and movement, somewhat as if the horse is galloping. The same motion is also indicated by the mane at the top of the head, which sweeps backwards. This is formed by four segments, each of which is decorated with two or three rearward curving lines.The head emerges from a flat back-plate. The back-plate is incomplete, but presumably was once sub-oval in plan. The external face of the panel is decorated with a series of incised cresents. The perimeter of the top of the panel above the head is convex. An integral stud of oval section extends from the centre of the reverse. This stud has a flattened head.The mount has a reddish-brown patina. Dimensions: Length: 21mm, Width: 19mm, Thickness: 22mm, Weight: 19.32g.Parallels are illustrated in Menzel's 'Die Romischen Bronzen aus Deutschland (1986). Similar artefacts are also recorded on the PAS database. These include BH-5A91D4, SF-DEDDE6, NLM-EAEE40, WMID-774A77, NMS-78F017 and WMID-0BE376. The record for the latter describes such pieces as 'protomes', citing illustrated examples from Germany. The function of these objects is uncertain. Although sometimes interpreted as feet from items of tableware, the form of several examples recorded by PAS appears to preclude this theory. Stylistically these mounts can be compared to the more common 'horse and rider' plate brooches, such as BH-46CD64, which have been found in association with temple sites of the 3rd to early 5th centuries AD and are widely considered to have a religious connection (Bayley and Butcher 2004: 175 - 176).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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