MOUNT

A complete copper alloy zoomorphic mount in the form of a wild feline, likely of Roman date c. 43-410 AD. The mount is a three-dimensional face of a wild cat; at the top of the face, there is a pair of prominent raised rounded-triangular ears on either side with sub-circular hollows on the interior. Below the ears, the forehead develops into a brow ridge, with two circular eyes underneath, which have central pellet pupils. On either side of the eyes, there are a pair of rounded cheek bones. Extending from between the eyes, is a large triangular nose with two nostrils at its base.

The nose borders the upper face and the animal's muzzle, which is sub-circular with an open rectangular mouth (approximately 4.7 mm wide) at its centre. Below the mouth, projecting from the animal's chin is a small rectangular protrusion.

The reverse of the face is hollow and the interior is grey in colour, possibly indicating it once contained lead, likely related to the adhering of the mount to another object, likely a vessel.

It measures 23.8 mm in length, 17.3 mm wide, 12.4 mm thick and weighs 8.7 g.

It is difficult to confidently identify the animal in question; a number of straight grooves on the top of the head between the ears and the small protrusion on the chin, may be indications of a lion's mane. However, the features of the face could easily be associated with a range of wild felines e.g. panther.

Zoomorphic mounts are comparatively common in the Roman period and depict a wide range of different animals, including lions KENT-C5965D, birds LVPL-CAF105 and livestock BH-989BB1.