407 (10)

380

Dress Accessońes

-scoop

soldered

seamline

TYPE I

Type II - as above but with a bevelled, horizon-tal end to the toothpick and a plain shank.

1762    BC72 acc. no. 4146 (context 88) ceramic phase 11 fig 251

Copper (AML); 1 55mm.

Type III - madę from wire with one end bent into a loop and the other pointed.

1763    SWA81 acc. no. 2262 (context 2279) ceramic phase 7 fig 251

Gunmetal (AML); bent out of shape; shank decorated below loop with a short length of very fine wire S-twisted round it; 1 55mm; d of wire lmm; d of decorative wire c.0.2mm.

Type IV - madę from copper-alloy wire, bent double and S-twisted leaving one end of wire generally slightly longer than the other.

1764    BWB83 acc. no. 1493 (context 108) ceramic phase 10

Incomplete and bent out of shape; surviving 1 20mm; d of wire c.0.8mm.

1765    BC72 3213 (118) 10-11 1 29mm; d of wire c.0.75mm.

1766 BWB83 1414 (146) 11 fig 251 Hammered sąuare along its twisted shank; 1 22mm; d of wire, 0.8mm.

1767    BWB83 1375 (156) 11 1 22mm; d of wire 0.8mm.

1768 SWA81 761 (2097) 12 fig 251

Both ends neatly clipped; very wom round loop; 1 27mm; d of wire c.0.75mm.

1769    SWA81 2164 (2115) 12 1 29mm; d of wire 0.9mm.

Earscoops/tweezers

Earscoops combined with tweezers were also madę in a variety of forms in the 13th and 14th centuries, and they were produced in bonę as well as base metal (copper, bronze and brass). The most common form in copper alloy, re-presented here by four examples, was madę from a narrow strip of sheeting cut to a rounded shape at one end to form a scoop. The tweezer arms were formed by splitting the sheeting part way along the centre (fig 252). The sheeting was then folded into tubę and the two edges soldered

n

-foldline

soldered

length

of

shank

TYPE II

252 Two ways by which earscoop/tweezers were madę from metal sheeting

together, leaving the seam open below a point which corresponded to the length of the opposing slit. One implement was reinforced round its shank with a band madę from gunmetal (no. 1773, fig 253). This was soldered into position and does not slide up and down the shank, as it does on some other items tentatively interpreted as parchment elips or for handling gold leaf (AR Goodall 1981, 67 fig 65 nos. 10-11) and on a pair of tweezers, which may be Roman, from Colches-ter (Crummy 1983, 59 fig 63 no. 1876). An early manifestation of a fixed band on a cosmetic implement is that on a pair of tweezers dated stylistically to the 8th or 9th century from Recul-ver, Kent (Wilson 1964, 161 no. 62 pl XXXVIII). The opposite end of the implement is missing and the band would, therefore, originally have con-cealed the seam linę.