POST MEDIEVAL TOY

1700

An incomplete orange pipe clay object in the form of a miniature vase.The artefact has been made in a two-piece mould, a vertical seam extending around the narrower outer sides. The vase is of classical style, the body being roughly circular in plan, of thin section and tapering to a narrower pedestal base. The top is broken but retains one of its original lug handles. The surfaces bear relief moulded decoration. Occupying each of the two wide faces is a male bust, one facing left, the other right. Both males wear Medieval style armour including a hinged-faced helmet (depicted as if open) with a large plume extending from the top. Surrounding each bust is a circular border, while a vertical band of acanthus leaf scroll extends down each of the two narrower sides. A vertical hole, visible within the broken upper surface, would have prevented the object from exploding in the kiln.The object measures 38.5mm high, 29.1mm wide and 16.4mm thick. The weight is 15.42g.No parallel could be found for this piece, but other examples of pipe clay toys are recorded on the PAS database - see, for example, BH-9BB333. It probably dates from the 18th or 19th centuries.