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Description: | Copper alloy spatula. Cast anthropomorphic handle from a spatula for the spreading of wax on a writing tablet, representing the Goddess Minerva in Romano-British Provincial style. The object is described from the helmet downwards, as follows:The Goddess wears an open and crested Classical helmet of arena-Thracian style with a curving forward-pointing horsehair crest, grooved down its centreline and possibly variegated as fine lines are incised across it. The plume rises from a flat ridge at the crown of the helmet, whose angle matches that of the brim below. The brim of the helmet is flat on the upper side, but its underside is ribbed in a manner used in sculpture to represent the stiffened hairstyle favoured by Britons, with moulded hair ridged by diagonally incised lines. The face is rounded and nearly tubular, with only shallow pits for eyes; these are emphasised by incised slanting brows and detailing of the pupils. The lips are similarly suggested. The face ends abruptly with a horizontal chin and the neck, again approaching a cylindrical form, continues to meet the flat shoulders of a cuirass. The body tapers to the waist, and ends at a doubly ribbed moulding passing all around the body which may represent either a military belt or the lower edge of a bell cuirass. The cuirass itself is lightly facetted to achieve an irregular octagonal section - the facets where arms are absent are the narrowest - and its neckline or shoulder straps are the only further moulded detail represented. The body below the ribbed moulding flares as either a tunic or skirts to the armour, with a deeply incised border at its base. Like the cuirass, this is lightly facetted. A series of crescentic stamps on the front-facing facets may represent a groin guard of mail, and a very faint line of diagonal strokes may divide this textured surface. The expanding line of the tunic is continued below by the edges of a bipartite grip for the spatula blade (now lost), which bears three moulded horizontal ribs to front and back.The figure neatly combines Classical conventions for the depiction of Minerva with the blank face and lovingly rendered coiffure typical of Provincial depictions of human subjects; this conflation is perhaps most deft with the treatment of the helmet brim. The excellent condition and character of the piece, as well as the interest in literacy, Classical culture and cult which it conveys, commend it as a find of note. Suggested date: Roman, 100-250.Height: 54.2mm, Width: 16.4mm, Thickness: 17.8mm, Weight: 25.24gms.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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