English: An incomplete zoomorphic copper alloy vessel mount or escutcheon of probable Iron Age date, c. 50 BC to AD 150.

The object is composed of a flattened plate, which would once have been attached to the vessel. This is sub-circular in shape, almost pointed oval, but the lower portion is either missing or possibly deliberately removed to create a flattened and squared off bottom edge. At the upper point of the oval rises a cylindrical neck, which extends upwards and forwards, broadening and flaring to a broad brow. The neck is decorated with a series of diagonal lines which extend outwards and downwards from the brow, giving the appearance of a mane.The brow is inset with two bulbous circular eyes, set within pointed oval sockets which meet together, giving the appearance of a figure of 8 laid horizontally across the brow. From this broadest point, the face narrows, with dished cheeks which taper to a cylindrical snout with two nostrils. There are incised lines on the cheeks, sweeping down from the eyes to join together in a triangle just above the snout. There is a central horizontal line across the snout. It is now corroded and patinised to a dark green in colour. The beast appears to be a hybrid creature, possibly a horse with its dished face, mane and snout, but the swollen brow and the swooping snout are possibly those a bird such as a goose or swan.

WREX-F4BC57 is a possible parallel, in the form of a swan or goose, but that example is clearly hooked and is acting as a base for a ring, with the bill of the bird curving inwards to meet its chest, as opposed to outwards as with the Devon example. Jope ((2000, plates 181, 194& 195) illustrates a number of swan/goose inspired objects including vessel mounts, but none is a close parallel to this example. Some reprentations of long necked birds are present on the materials from the Waldalgesheim chariot burial, but none is a vessel mount, and they are represented in two dimensions. NLM-0C03B4 also appears relatively similar, in the use of a composite bird/equid beast, but this example has been tentatively dated to the Early Medieval period, and is suggested as being influenced by Germanic belt and buckle designs. While the curvature of the beast's head is similar, the Devon case has markedly bulbous eyes and lacks the distinctive ears visible on the later Lincolnshire example.

Rebecca Ellis of the University of Hull has kindly commented that she feels this example is unlikely to be of Iron Age date, due to the position of the snout, the placement of the eyes, and the large amount of incised decoration, and is more likely Early Medieval in date, but Ciorstaidh Hayward Trewarthen has also kindly commented that this slightly unusual styling of the beast's head and nose is unsurprising in a south western variant. The use of interlinking diagonal lines to represent hair is familiar from representations of human heads of the period on Iron Age sword pommels, as seen on DEV-011E4D. The intertwined figure of 8 decoration around the eyes is also reminiscent of other sources of insular La Tene style decoration, seen on a grand scale on the Battersea shield. As such, this example has been classified as Iron Age in date subject to further discussion and debate.

Measurements: 45.6mm length, 26.9mm width (plate), 16.2mm width (head), 6.1mm thickness (plate), 9.4mm thickness (snout), weight 50.05g