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Andrea asks if anyone knows what this is.

October '10 

Made in bronze and  approx. 9 cm high (3 3/4 inches) and 11 1/2 cm wide (4 5/8 inches).

 

 

 



 

 From John .

14th Oct '10

I have just returned from a metal detecting holiday in the UK and this is one of the items I found.

It is approx 1 3/4 inches across the arcs X 1 1/2 inches high.

I have a book from the British Museum called Roman Britain it shows a scene from the victory column erected by Trajan, showing Roman Soldiers in combat with troops frm Dacia,a number of the troops have this fitting on top of their helmets,any other thoughts??????????

 




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From John

This is a 18/19th century barrel tap handle:

http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showrecords.php?product=26359&cat=125

(often described as a scabbard chape end)

Cheers,

John

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  Didier asks if anyone can throw some light on these.

March 2011

The first one is a carnelian aegis. H = 22 mm; W = 19 mm.

The amulet is pierced for suspension through the middle of the head.  The question is an aegis of what?

As far as I know aegis are restricted to a very few deities (i.e. Bastet, Sekhmet, Khnum, Amun-Re, Mut and Bes).  This one dos not fit with either.

This seems to me a man with a kind of moon crescent on the top of the head. The top is not broken although it may possibly have been re-cut. The design is not very fine and I believe this to be a late period amulet.

 




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The second one is a pure - but tiny - gem (L = 9 mm; H = 6mm; T = 3mm).

This is a glass amulet (presumably New Kingdom and possibly from the Amarna period).

The amulet is pierced for suspension in its thickness. This seems to me the head of a bird but I am really not sure.

 

 




 

July 2011

Unfortunately no comments from others but Didier has sent an update:

 

I am now convinced that the carnelian aegis is a Bes, but probably more Phoenician than Egyptian. Many Bes are quite bizarre like possibly that one.
For the glass amulet, I still don't have any idea. Despite extensive research I did not find any parallel.

 

 April 2015

From Didier.

 

I thought it was a New kingdom amulet. However when browsing the new site of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Washington DC) I found these two, which are very similar in size, material, and colours:

www.asia.si.edu/collections/edan/object.cfm


www.asia.si.edu/collections/edan/object.cfm


However, both are described as beads, ear-shaped. The latter does not seem to apply to mine (and perhaps not to the first one of the museum, which also in my opinion ressembles more a bird head than an ear).

Therefore you may up-date your site with this information if you wish as they seem quite rare. Assuming the museum information is correct such amuletic beads are Ptolemaic.

 



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