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MOUNT
Unique ID: BUC-F53C66
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A well preserved Roman copper alloy lion mask mount, one of a pair found roughly side by side [see also BUC-F52027] 500mm apart. It was clear that they had not been buried still mounted on the object they had been fixed to or with any other objects.
The face and especially the mask stands proud of the rectangular base plate, the fringe of mane around it, with separate curling strands delineated in progressively shallower relief. The eyes are fully modelled including brows, lids, pupils and irises. The lion's cast of features is rather gentle looking and slightly lopsided. The reverse has been left rough, as cast. Both lions appear to be from the same mould though this one is 13g heavier.
Many exavated examples suggest that the smaller lion head fittings used as containers for cremated bone, an element of a wider association between funary art and Lion images (Hunter 2003 p59-67). Many examples of these have been recorded on this database. However this mount is much larger than most instances from Britain; several mounts of comparable size from the lower Rhine, but without he square backing plate (Menzel 1986, 137-40 nos 348-53, Taf 130-131). [From notes by Sally Worrell].
Colleagues in the course of their travels have sent back a picture of comparable lion masks in Roman Germany Museum in Cologne, used as the decoration on wheel hubs of a carriage. The Naples Archaeological Museum has a case of four lion masks from Pompeii as door knockers with rings through their mouths.
Notes:
Hunter, F 2003. 'Funary Lions in Roman Provincial Art' in P. Noelke (ed.) Romanisation und Resistenz in Plastik, Architektur und Inschriften der Provinzen des Imperium Romanum: Neue Funde und Forschungen, 59-67
Find of note status
This is a find of note and has been designated: Potential for inclusion in Britannia
Class: Lion
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Donated to a museum
Chronology
Broad period: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 43
Date to: Circa AD 410
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 83.08 mm
Height: 35.02 mm
Width: 79.4 mm
Thickness: 2.39 mm
Weight: 211 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 18th March 2012
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Museum accession number: AYBCM 2013.2.2
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Decoration style: Zoomorphic
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Buckinghamshire (County)
District: Aylesbury Vale (District)
To be known as: Wing area
Spatial coordinates
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menzel, H. | 1966 | Die Romischen Bronzen aus Deutschland III Bonn | 137-140, nos 348-353, Taf.130-131 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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