Bactrian Style Lapis Lazuli and Other Bead Necklace String

D-shaped in section with minuscule italic inscription to inner face 'prouidence deuien hath made thee mine'. 5.12 grams, 22.51 mm overall, 19.59 mm internal diameter (approximate size British T, USA 9 1/2, Europe 21.26, Japan 20)



From a collection which predates 1982. Property of a Somerset collector, UK, since circa 2013.

Formed from a round-section shaft twisted to the centre, an oval bezel with a wide rim and ornate letters 'EEN' under plano-convex crystal in profile; maker's mark 'JB' to the underside, for John Brogden. 7.04 grams, 96 mm



Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market.

A rare complete and undamaged rectangular plaque bearing raised, moulded text on the obverse; with hatched three horizontal bars and two pelletted between five registers, framing the letters of the alphabet '+ABCDE / FGHIKL / MN[reversed]OPq / RSTVW / +Y[Z]'; tree with berries on a hatched field to the reverse. 26.8 grams, 53 mm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Kniveton, Derbyshire Dales, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.WMID-341C6A.

The letter 'U' has been omitted from the alphabet, as is common with such objects, as has the letter 'J', suggesting that the book was produced prior to the publication of Charles Butler's English Grammar (1633), which first distinguished between I and J. The letter Z is reversed. Hornbooks were employed as learning aids and commonly made from paper mounted onto wood, together with a transparent sheet of horn. Smaller, more portable lead-alloy examples such as this one are generally believed to have been mass-produced, whilst still falling within the genre of 'hornbooks'.