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LOT 0347
Celtic Iceni Decorated Bronze Horn Cap
IRON AGE, 2ND CENTURY B.C.-EARLY 1ST CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 - 3 in. (314 grams total, 45-75 mm).
Sceptre head or other fitting with biconvex flange, possibly a finial from the yoke of a chariot.
ProvenanceFound Colchester, Essex, UK, 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Jope, E. M., Early Celtic Art, Oxford, 2000, pl.302-3, described as a vehicle pole and yoke fittings; Macdonald, P., Llyn Cerrig Bach. A Study of the Copper Alloy Artefacts from the Insular La Tène Assemblage, Cardiff, 2007, fig.23, item 49; cf. similar offered in Christie's, London, 12 December 1984, no.26A (£7,000-£10,000).
FootnotesTwenty or so 'horn caps' are known in museums and private collections, all have been found in Britain and mostly in Southern England. This type of decorative cap is from the end of a curved wooden handle which projected from the back of an Iron Age chariot, by which a warrior could pull himself back into the chariot. The chariot to which this would have been attached would have belonged to a chief or wealthy warrior from the Icenic tribe.
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With integral spring and pin, flat-section bow with raised median rib and edges, wide foot with catch and piercing. 8.78 grams, 68 mm
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