File:2008 T680 (FindID 238533).jpg

1^st - 2^nd century AD terminal end of silver hair pin. Roman. Female hand holding votive bottle.

Description

The upper shank and ornate finial of a Roman silver hair pin. The shank is of circular cross-section. The finial is in the form of a finely-modelled extended right hand with an object that may be interpreted as a perfume flask held between thumb, forefinger and second finger. A simple ring moulding at wrist-level, possibly intended to represent a bracelet, separates the shank from the finial. The tip of the forefinger and third and fourth fingers is broken and most of the pin shank is lacking.

This is an example of Cool's Group 7B - Roman metal hair pins with human hand heads (H. Cool, 'Roman metal hair pins from southern Britain', Archaeological Journal 147, 1990, 148-82, esp. 157-60, Fig. 5, nos. 1,2,5,7,9). The object most commonly held in the hand is of spherical or oval shape, probably intended as an egg or a piece of fruit, but that on the finial of a silver pin from the bed of the Walbrook in London is regarded as a small pomegranate, while the most ornate of the series, a bone pin also from London, shows a bust of Isis (C. Johns, The jewellery of Roman Britain, UCL Press, London, 1996, 141-2, Figs. 6.11 and 6.12). The meaning of the chosen objects is uncertain but it is likely that they had a common purpose as images of good fortune and well-being.

Dimensions

Length 37.9 mm. Finial length (including ring moulding) 21 mm. Weight: 4.8 g.