VESSEL

An incomplete copper-alloy zoomorphic vessel mount of Roman date. The mount is solid and in the form of a crude or stylised bird, such as a duck. The body is a pointed ovate with a D-shaped section and a central ridge extending longitudinally along the upper surface. An ovate sectioned neck extends upward from the wider end of the body, curving round to form the rounded head with a near 90 degree angle towards the top. The front of the head tapers to a rounded point which represents the beak. No features remain on the face of the bird. The wings and feathers of the bird are denoted by engraved oblique lines stretching around the body and up into the lower portion of the neck.

The underside of the bird is flat with an integral ovate shaft projecting centrally which opens into a large circular loop with wide flattened base. The edge of the base appears very worn and may have broken from a larger object. The shaft also bears oblique incised lines of decoration.

The metal has a mid-green patina and is worn having lost numerous small patches of the original surface. The mount is 52.1mm long, 24.8mm wide, 12.8mm thick and weighs 21.8g.

A parallel for this mount is illustrated in Crummy (1983), p.142, fig.171, no.4268 from a Late Roman context in Colchester and is described as a figurine which was likely attached to a surface of some kind. Similar examples have also been recorded on the PAS database such as: ESS-C57482; BH-291876; LIN-214201; SF-1D5C52; BERK-CDC1A4 and SUSS-262875. The latter record states that such mounts are generally believed to be of 1^st century date and were produced mainly as decoration for the rims of metal vessels. WILT-D6B5E8 is also similar and makes mention of examples of duck-shaped mounts having been found on 1st century strainer bowls from Kingston Deverill, Wiltshire (recorded as WILT-92B052); Brandon, Suffolk and Santon, Norfolk.