FURNITURE FITTING

A copper-alloy furniture fitting of Roman date and zoomorphic form. This component appears to be complete and would have formed one part of an item of furniture.

The overall cross-section of this artefact is sub-oval to sub-rectangular with a maximum height of 80.4mm, maximum width 11.3mm and maximum depth front to back is 15.2mm. Weight is 53.86g.

The artefact has the overall appearance of having a straight vertical back, slightly undulating sides and a moulded front with forward projecting beast's head and feet with a bowed middle between representing the beast's torso. The thickest or deepest dimension of this artefact is across centre of the torso. The convex forward bowed middle is solid with the exception of a 'C' shaped notch at the centre of the reverse surface. The notch accounts for 6.5mm of the total height and has a depth of 5.4mm. The edges of the notch are gently rounded so as to form a sub-oval to sub-circular cross-section across this bowed part of the furniture fitting. It seems likely that the notch was designed to cross-fit with a horizontal component of the item of furniture which this object was once a part of.

At the centre of the base of this object is a downwards projecting integral copper-alloy dowel. This dowel accounts for 4.4mm of the total height and has a sub-circular to sub-square cross-section measuring 4.4mm width and 4.5mm depth/thickness. It seems likely that this dowel would have fitted into a socket on another component part of the item of furniture that this object was a part of.

The base of the artefact, from which the dowel projects, has a width of 8.3mm and depth of 12.1mm. The sides and front surface are decorated with relatively deep moulded, carved or incised grooves positioned horizontally, vertically and diagonally covering an area accounting for 9.5mm of the total height. This area represents the beast's feet and the deep grooves depict the beast's toes. The relatively deep grooves continue over the area above the toe zone with curvilinear and angular lines in a roughly vertical alignment, some of which join together at the top to form decorative gently rounded lobes. These lobes resemble leaves suggesting that the beast maybe emerging from a calyx (see ESS-861894), despite the feet also being visible. These lobes terminate at the start, lower edge, of the 'C' shaped notch. Approximately half way up this calyx zone the artefact has a width of 8.3mm and depth of 6.8mm. The reverse surface, below the notch, has a single straight groove vertically along the centre, a vertically aligned slightly curvilinear groove to either side at the edge of the reverse/edge of the sides and a slightly shallower horizontal straight groove 1.7mm below the notch and 1.7mm above the base.

Two thin shallow parallel incised grooves follow the curve of the notch on both sides of artefact. The upper torso's surface is decorated with thin shallow incised curvilinear 'S' or figure-of-eight scroll shaped motifs, a dot present at the end of each motif's curvilinear groove. At the base of the neck the motifs are incised circles and half circles with a dot at the centre of each. These incised circles have a diameter of 4.5mm. These motifs might suggest that the beast being represented is a cheetah or leopard.

At the top of the neck, the beast's moulded head faces forwards. Below the chin the neck has a width of 8.7mm and depth of 8.5mm. At the top of the head an ear is present to either side of the head. The ears account for 7.0mm of the total height and measure 10.1mm across the depth axis. The head has a height of 14.6mm, have a width of 11.1mm and depth of 15.4mm. From the base of each ear a mane wraps around the edge of the face covering the lower jaw. This tufty mane might indicate that the beast represented is a lion although resemblance to a cheetah or leopard seems more likely despite this feature, see IOW-0F15E5 which describes a Roman panther or leopard mount with "...moulded ruff..." around its jaw line. PAS record CAM-47C966 describes an artefact of Roman date also a feline head with ruffed mane and ring and dot detail. The mouth is partially open. To the right of the mouth as viewed (the beast's left side of the mouth) a slight vertical column of metal links the upper jaw to the lower. This might intentionally represent a canine tooth with the object having been designed to show the mouth parted by the length of the canine teeth rather than being held fully wide open. The absence of a matching slight vertical column on the opposite side of the mouth may indicate that one was once present but has since broken off, that this feature was unsuccessfully cast and never formed, or alternatively that the vertical column present is the unintentional result of manufacture which was never removed and was never a planned aspect of the original design. It is uncertain whether a break is present as a result of the whole surface within the mouth being rough and therefore any possible break being hidden by the surrounding textured surface. Interestingly the Roman feline artefact described in IOW-F65D31 also has one canine tooth "...integral with the upper and lower jaw....", although the presence of a break is described, on the same side as the single canine tooth present on this artefact. A slightly off centred oval nose, cheeks, forehead and pointed oval eyes are defined by grooves. The eyes have a depressed dot at the centre of each. The reverse surface of the upper torso and neck appears to be smooth and undecorated, although shallow incised motifs may have possibly been worn off there is no evidence to support this possibility. The 1.9mm above the head is decorated by closely set shallow incised diagonal lines on the front and sides. Above this is a deep horizontal groove that runs around all four sides of the artefact. Above the groove a further 2.1mm is also decorated with closely set shallow incised diagonal lines on the front and sides. These upper diagonal lines are positioned in an opposite direction to the lower ones so as to create a herring-bone effect. This zone immediately above the head has a width of 9.9mm and depth of 9.8mm.

Above the herring-boned decoration the artefact constricts to a width of 7.7mm and depth of 7.2mm. This terminal zone accounts for 10.8mm of the total height, expanding upwards and tipping forwards to the flattened, slightly convex, top. At the blunt terminal the width is 8.9mm and depth is 8.6mm. The reverse surface is decorated with a single, relatively deep, centrally positioned vertical groove. The front surface is decorated with a single, relatively deep, centrally positioned vertical groove. To either side of this central groove are closely set shallow diagonal lines that form a herring-bone design (see LANCUM-D9C603). The two sides have a relatively deeply set incised grooved border, set in from the edges by approximately 1.6mm. The area inside these borders is infilled with shallower incised diagonal criss-crossed lines that create a field of tiny lozenges.

The straight reverse surface of this furniture fitting is suggestive that the artefact might have been designed to fit against a flat surface. The presence of decoration on the reverse surface below the notch suggests that the reverse surface, or at least the lower part of it, was likely to be visible and therefore reduces the likelihood that the fitting was positioned against a flat surface.

See SF-33BD41, SF-9F9E15, SF-144059, ESS-861894, BH-A68473, LIN-505FA6, DENO-203066, SWYOR-D27686, SOM-B90771, SF-B89FD6 & LANCUM-D9C603. A similar form has been used on a different artefact type, as a folding knife handle see LEIC-09AA21.