Circa 1st century BC. An extremely rare cast bridle cheek piece toggle of unusually large size with flared terminals, ornamented with a rectangle of twelve chequered enamelled cells, the panel tailing each end with a further six triangular cells; the arms with lines of engraved chevrons and the reverse with an engraved panel, divided diagonally in quarters.

LITERATURE:
MacGregor, 45 & p. 38; cf Piggott; cf Mills, C49; Benet, No. I15.0202; BM, 'Later Prehistoric Antiquities', 1953, pl. XIII(4); Richborough V (OUP 1968), plate XXXIX, no. 144 (p. 97).

FOOTNOTES:
There has been debate about the exact purpose of these enamelled 'toggle' pieces. Long thought of as bridle 'cheek pieces', modern research, from their occurrence in chariot burials, suggests that their use may have been with the chariots themselves, rather than being specifically part of the horse harness set.