COSMETIC MORTAR

A cast copper-alloy cosmetic mortar of Late Iron Age to Roman date. It is crescent shaped, triangular in section and has pitted surfaces along one side and at one terminal end resultant from copper-alloy corrosion. At one end the mortar terminates in a globular, phallic knop that is dome-shaped with a small circumferential groove around the outer face. The opposite end appears to be undecorated and terminates in a simple rounded surface. This mortar has an integrally cast suspension loop that is flat, semi-circular in form and with a central circular perforation. Interestingly, this is positioned off-centre along the back face of the mortar rather than at the centre of the back face as is more typically noted in objects of this type. The interior surface of the mortar has an incised V-shaped groove that would have accomodated the now missing pestle. The entire object measures 74.36mm in length, 17.87mm in height at suspension loop, 8.17mm in thickness at terminal, and weighs 21.45g. Cosmetic mortars such as this would have formed part of cosmetic sets, the now missing corresponding pestle allowing for the grinding of small amounts of cosmetic powders. These objects are unique to Britain and Gaul and often have fertility associations. They probably find their origins in the Late Iron Age and date to between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.