Object Details
From:NHerts
Name/TitleRoman copper alloy jug
About this objectA complete copper-alloy jug with detached handle, originally recorded as a bottle, with the handle found later, during excavation.
It is a broadly pear-shaped vessel, the top flaring into a right-angled rim, the circular base having a series of concentric moulded grooves and ridges on its concave underside. Approximately halfway down the body is an area of white metal solder, marking the point at which the base of the handle was attached.
The deeply bowed handle is profusely decorated with relief-moulded designs. At the top, the necks and heads of two bird-like creatures (probably cranes) form a C-shaped socket, allowing the handle to fit the rim of the vessel. Each bird has an incised beak and eye, the latter of which contains a ring-shaped setting of silver wire. Acanthus leaves project forward from the top of the handle, dividing the two birds and overhanging the rim of the jug. A pair of tendrils also projects outwards on either side, the uppermost abutting the back of the bird’s neck. A moulded transverse band is located just below the apex of the handle, separating the acanthus leaves from a scene in which a winged figure sits beneath a vine, facing left, his right hand extended. A basket hangs from a branch above him. Dividing this figure from the sub-oval base plate is what appears to be an altar with a basket of offerings upon it. The base plate is decorated with the image of a winged figure wearing a straw hat, who stands leaning to the left, apparently digging with a spade. A slender tree with pear-shaped canopy is located in the left-hand area of the scene’s background, with what appears to be bushes to the left of the figure.
Date MadeAD 100-200
PeriodRoman (AD 43-411)
Medium and MaterialsMetal | Copper alloy
MeasurementsVessel height about 195 mm; maximum width about 110 mm; diameter of base 75.1 mm; diameter of rim 75.73 mm. Weight (containing soil) 1227.5 g.
Handle length 132.7 mm; width (top) 75.4 mm; depth of bow about 63 mm. Weight 194.32 g.
Total height of reconstructed jug about 200 mm.
Named CollectionNorth Hertfordshire Museum
Credit LinePurchased from the British Museum under the terms of the Treasure Act 1996.
Object TypeJug
Object number2018.6.4
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved