POST MEDIEVAL TOY

1600

A sheet lead alloy child's toy representing a female, however only the lower portion of the skirt remains. The fragment is an elongated trapezoid in plan, and is straight in profile. One face is decorated with a central column of six X's within a square border. Either side of this there are columns of chevrons and transverse ribbing. The fragment measures 24.79mm long, and at the base is 22.93mm wide and 2.21mm thick. It weighs 5.3g.The toy is dated to the late 16th to early 17th centuries. Some human figure toys are this date are three-dimensional, and it is thought that the two-dimensional examples, such as this one is a cheaper version (Egan, G. 1998 'Miniature toys of Medieval childhood' British Archaeology No. 35). Dr. G. Egan (pers comm.) writes that it is a toy figure - in effect a doll - of a type that was common in rural areas, particularly for some reason around Whitby, and probably dating from the early 17th century.