VESSEL

A cast copper alloy cooking vessel leg/foot. The leg is an elongated sub-trapezoid in plan, with the narrow edge forming the upper edge. The upper edge is broken but it is not recent as the patina covers the break. The base of the foot is sub-trapezoidal with the narrowest edge forming the reverse edge. The outer wide face is concave in profile, whilst the back of the leg is straight. The leg and foot is decorated on the outer face with a subtle, integral vertical ridge. The surface of the leg has a mottled green coloured patina and patches of a black deposit which is probably a sooty/carbon deposit, including on the base of the foot. The leg measures 42.39mm wide across the foot, and 45.63mm tall from the table surface to the broken edge. It weighs 120g.

It is uncertain what type of vessel this fragment comes from, but Egan (Egan G. 1998 The Medieval Household Daily Living c. 1150-c.1450 Museum of London, London, The Stationary Office) comments that commonly used cooking vessels in the Medieval period include skillets, ewers, and cauldrons. Geake (Geake, H. 2001 Finds Recording Guide Unpublished) suggests such vessels were used from the mid 13th to 16th centuries. Butler and Green (2003 English Bronze Cooking Vessels and Their Founders 1350-1830 Acanthus Press) comment cooking vessels can date up to the mid 18th century.