pan
- Museum number
- 1814,0705.23
- Description
-
Copper alloy shallow pan with handle. The rim is fractured and slightly sprung, the base is lacking, and corrosion products adhere to much of the surviving surface. The slender handle, quite plain and rather rudimentarily finished, has a 'keyhole’ slot for suspension (blocked with iron corrosion products) and a knobbed finial with adjacent moulding of the upper surface. In contrast to the rather indifferent workmanship of the handle finial, the rim of the pan is finely profiled and has a neatly-applied incuse decoration on the horizontal inner ledge and on the outer wall. The latter, an arcaded (or developed ovolo) motif, shows signs of wear. Flaws in manufacture are present both on the handle and the pan. The majority are tiny insignificant blowholes. A split below the rim coincides with a slight dent and was probably the result of ancient damage.
- Production date
- 1stC(late)-2ndC(early)
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 158 millimetres
-
Length: 265 millimetres
-
Weight: 223.60 grammes
- Curator's comments
- Ribchester hoard
Roman Britain, late 1st or early 2nd century AD
From Ribchester, Lancashire
This hoard of military metalwork and other itens was found in 1796 by a clogmaker's son playing behind his father's house in the village of Ribchester. Ribchester was the site of a Roman fort, and the hoard seems to have been placed in storage in a wooden box, probably beneath a barrack block floor, in about AD 120. Until then the fort had been garrisoned by a cavalry regiment, the Ala II Asturum, and the hoard, possibly the belongings of a single soldier, consists mainly of cavalry equimpent.
Most striking is the two-piece vizor helmet, which was worn in cavalry sports events (hippika gymnasia), colourful displays in which both horse and rider were dressed in elaborate clothing and metal fittings.
The perforated bronze domes to the left of the helmet are a pair of horse eye-guards, and below them is a set of highly-decorated horse brass, including (to the right of the helmet) a mount with a bust of Minerva, goddess of war and wisdom. The broken discs in the centre foreground are the remains of military awards, while on the right are three bronze pans and a pottery mixing bowl (mortarium). The other objects include parts of two saddle plates and a boar's tusk amulet (good luck charm).
- Location
- On display (G49/dc8)
- Acquisition date
- 1814
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1814,0705.23
