POST MEDIEVAL TOY

1575

A cast sheet lead alloy child's toy representing a figure, however only the bust remains. The object is flat in profile and undecorated on the reverse. The face is sub-rectangle with pellets as eyes, a broad damaged nose and a horizontal ridge as a moth. On top of the head, and integral to the face, there is a semi-circular hat with is decorated with a high-relief zigzag design around the edge. The surface ofthe fragment has awell developed light brown patina. The fragment measures 26.17mm long, and at the base is 28.83mm wide and 3.07mm thick at the mouth. It weighs 9.9g.The toy, if it is a toy rather than a badge, would be dated to the late 16th to early 17th centuries. Some human figure toys of 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).The other possible identification is as a badge, but there is no sign on the reverse of this function.Dr. G. Egan 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