Figurines Data

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ID	880
Images
Grid Ref	TL5359
Project type	Metal detector
County	Cambridgeshire
Site	Stow Cum Quy
Site Type	Unknown
Location Type	Unknown
Context	Unknown
Context Quality	1
Site Date	Unknown
Object Period	0
Material	Bronze
Location	British Museum
Ref No	2009,8035.1
M/F	Male
Form	Figurine
Type	Composite
Name	Horse and rider
Bearded	No
Standing/Seated	Seated
Headgear	Helmet
Attributes	Yes
Attribute description	Missing spear and shield
Clothed	Yes
Clothing description	Tunic and cloak
Drapery	No
Condition	Good, almost complete but horse missing lower right rear leg.
Classical	0
Quality	Stylised 1 or 2
Photo	Yes
Illustration	Yes
Height	0.00
Length	94.12
Parallels	Brough (821)
References	PAS database (SF-99E3E4); Worrell 2007, 328-30 fig. 26 [Link to Bibliography]
Description	Although it is impossible to say without analysis the metal may have a high lead content due to its heavy weight and silvery grey colouration. The figurine remains in extremely good condition with only small patches of pale green corrosive products present. The horse and rider were made as separate, solid threedimensional castings but were discovered together as one piece by the finder. They subsequently came apart as the iron spike holding them together corroded away. The figurine is almost complete, the horse is missing one lower leg and hoof and the rider the spear and one hand which may have originally held a shield. These fragments are missing due to old breaks, now worn and the finder did not recover them. The human male rider measures 61.03mm in height and 34.55mm in width across the arms, the widest point, it weighs 44.65g. One hand and attributes are lost due to old breaks. The rider is in a sitting position with his right arm raised and his left arm lowered but held away from his body. He wears a crested helmet and short hair, represented by small grooves, can be seen below this. Face is oval in shape and has large oval eyes with large eyebrows. The nose is triangular in shape and protruding and a transverse groove represents the mouth, the ears are not depicted. The rider is wearing a short pleated tunic. The pleats are represented by longitudinal mouldings, with a belt and short sleeves, leaving the arms bare. The upper arm of the complete right hand arm is set at right angles to the shoulder and the lower arm is held vertically, the hand has grooves representing fingers and was clearly holding something, presumably a spear. The other arm is lowered and held away from the body, the hand is missing but the position of the arm implies that this missing hand would have probably held an object in front of and to the left hand side of the body, presumably a shield. The rider is also wearing a cloak, which flows out behind him and also has longitudinal decoration representing its folds. The cloak has a notched edge and is further decorated with circular indentations. The knees of the legs protrude from beneath the tunic and the legs may be bare, they are set apart to accommodate the back of the horse, the feet are crude and none of the toes depicted. Overall, the rider is naively and even childishly modelled. Although he is generally in proportion the torso is fairly small and short and the shoulders narrow. In the underside of the rider, between its legs, there is a mass of iron corrosion surrounding an iron circular cross-sectioned projection which originally held the rider in place on the horses back. The horse is better-modelled. It is 94.12mm in length and 67.69mm in height at the head, 127.15g in weight. The left lower limb of one hind leg is now missing and it seems that one front leg may have been slightly bent. Despite this there is no doubt that the horse is moving forwards in a gait, with its fore legs stretched forwards. The overall proportions of the horse are not anatomically correct. It is generally slender with a very narrow body and elongated legs. The head is raised and ears pricked upwards and forward facing, they are oval in shape. The head is small with large oval shaped eyes, very similar to those of the rider, with eyelashes. The nose is rounded and nostrils flared and the mouth appears to be open. The mane is depicted by wavy mouldings and grooves down either side of the neck and is also plaited down its centre with five vertically projecting plaits represented, the first of which is presumably the plaited forelock and is much longer than the others. The body of the horse is decorated with an incised decorative band consisting of a longitudinal zigzag with a row of small dots above and below it. This decorative band passes around the front of the horses. breast and beneath its tail. It is possibly a representation of the bridle. The tail is long and slender with the individual hairs represented by grooves. It flows downwards and flattens towards the tip. It is the same length as the surviving legs. The centre of the body has a slight constriction, which has a mass of corroded iron adhering to it. There is a corroded circular cross-sectioned shaft passing right through the centre of the body and it is this shaft which also passed into the base of the rider holding it in position originally. As this iron shaft passes right through the horse, it could perhaps have also been used to attach the figurine to a base, although it is more likely to have been soldered in position at its hoofs. Interestingly there is also a fragment of copper-alloy sheet, which appears to be wrapped around the central constriction and which may perhaps have represented a saddlecloth. The corroded iron shaft passes through the centre of this (PAS).
PAS id	SF-99E3E4