COSMETIC MORTAR

A cast copper alloy cosmetic mortar. The cosmetic mortar is an elongated crescent in profile with an integral loop beneath one terminal. The loop is circular with a slightly oval hole. The body of the mortar is ‘U’ shaped in section, which tapers in width and depth towards each terminal becoming shallower. The base of the mortar is slightly rounded. The terminal without the loop, terminates with a slightly indented tip. The surface of the mortar has a pitted and is a mid brownish-grey patina. It measures 63.14 mm long, 13.75 mm wide and 6.9 mm thick. It weighs 10.89 grams. Similar end-looped cosmetic mortars can be seen in Ralph Jackson’s paper on 'Cosmetic sets from the late Iron Age and Roman Britain' (1985: Britannia, Vol. 16, pp165- 192). The closest parallels to this example are catalogue number 15, 18 & 21. It can be dated to the late Iron Age to early Roman periods, circa 1st - 2nd century AD. At the time of writing this 24 examples of cosmetic mortars have been recorded onto the PAS database, this is the first to have been recorded by the PAS in Sussex. In Jackson’s 1985 article he refers to a few cosmetic sets having been found in West Sussex, but none in East Sussex. These mortar and pestle sets would probably have been used to grind minerals for make up and were a uniquely British object. Some examples are in the British Museum: (references as follows) BM P&E P1976 5-1 505-506 1900 7-2 1-2 P&E DR. 1-72