FOLDING KNIFE

An incomplete Roman (AD 43-410) copper alloy openwork folding knife handle of 'hare and hound' type. It is missing the end where the blade would have attached (behind the hound), and most of the bar with a slot which the blade would have folded in to (old and worn breaks). The iron blade is also missing.
The handle is formed of cast openwork depicting a hound chasing a hare, with the snout of the hound touching the hare's tail. They are running towards the hilt end of the handle. The hare has a solid vertical leg to front and back. The body is arranged on a diagonal line with a groove separating the head and ear from the body, on both sides. The ear lies flat against the body and is further decorated to either side with a groove flanking the outside edge, and at the top of the ears, another wide groove c.1mm deep. The hound has only his solid foreleg surviving, reaching forwards diagonally to show movement. The body is triangular in shape, with a horizontal line to the top of the back and the chest at a right angle. The head is square in shape with a pronounced, protruding snout. The ears are triangular in shape with the same grooved decoration as on the hare. The rump extends downwards from the back, terminating in a worn break at the tail and rear leg. It is here the housing for the blade-end would have been.
The grooved slot for the blade only survives under the hare, and is dented inwards with a crack to one face.
The handle measures 57.4mm long and 15.5mm wide, with a thickness of 3.8mm. The handle weighs 10.2g.