Rights Holder: The Portable Antiquities Scheme
CC License: 
Image use policy
Our images can be used under a CC BY attribution licence (unless stated otherwise).
CHARM
Unique ID: LANCUM-2B81A2
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Late Post Medieval to Modern copper alloy Joan The Wad charm figurine.
There is a raised inscription on the back that reads -
JOAN
THE
WA[D]
Joan the Wad copper alloy figurines where mostly sold in West Country souvenier shops and through newspaper & magazine advertising.
Dates to between c1850 and c2000 AD.
The length is 39mm, the width is 12mm, thickness 8mm, and the weight 9.18g.
Notes:
From Wikepedia -
"Joan the Wad is a mythological character in Cornish folklore. She is the Queen of the Piskeys, which are tiny mythical creatures usually associated with the counties of Cornwall and Devon in England.
Wad is an Eastern Cornwall colloquial term for torch or bundle of straw.
Folklore
Joan the Wad has been associated with Jack o' the Lantern, the King of the Piskeys. The two may also be considered will-o'-the-wisp type characters who lead travelers astray on lonely moors, hence the rhyme:
Jack-the-lantern, Joan-the-wad,
That tickled the maid and made her mad,
Light me home, the weather's bad.
However, Joan is also to thought use her Wad (Torch) to light the way to safety and good luck, as another rhyme says, "Good fortune will nod, if you carry upon you Joan the Wad"
Iconography
Joan the Wad is often depicted naked and associated with fire and water elements. In the last century, there was a thriving cottage industry in Joan the Wad lucky charms. People carried small figures of Joan the Wad for good luck: a small collection of such antique figures is housed at the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle. Her image also appears on door knockers to serve as a protective spirit.
Class:
Joan The Wad
Inscription:
JOAN THE WA[D]
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MODERN
Period from: POST MEDIEVAL
Period to: MODERN
Date from: Exactly AD 1850
Date to: Circa AD 2000
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 39 mm
Width: 12 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight: 9.18 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Thursday 15th March 2018 - Thursday 15th March 2018
Personal details
This information is restricted for your access level.
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: East Midlands (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Lincolnshire (County)
District: South Kesteven (District)
Parish or ward: Boothby Pagnell (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SK9829
Four figure Latitude: 52.8495933
Four figure longitude: -0.54621496
1:25K map: SK9829
1:10K map: SK92NE
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
Similar objects
Find number: NLM-830C57
Object type: CHARM
Broadperiod: POST MEDIEVAL
Copper alloy charm. A small cast naturalistically modelled figurine of a naked woman reclining supine with her right arm behind her head, her…
Workflow: Awaiting validation
Find number: NLM-EC39B6
Object type: PENDANT
Broadperiod: MODERN
Copper alloy pendant. Cast figurine of Joan the Wad, a lucky charm. A naked female depicted as a bathing belle, seated with one knee raised h…
Workflow: Awaiting validation
Find number: RAH1356
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Hole for pendant good luck charm
Workflow: Published
Timeline of associated dates
About Us
About our Site
Find us
The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG.
T: +44(0) 20 73238618