A uncommon Roman automobile becoming depicting a feminine feline together with her paw on a disembodied human head has been found in England and formally declared Treasure. Relationship to between 43 and 200 A.D., it’s the solely recognized Roman automobile becoming present in Britain that mixes a feline with a human head. This distinctive motif and magnificence make the modest piece so traditionally vital that though it’s a single object product of base steel, it qualifies as Treasure below the amended Treasure Act of 1996.
The copper alloy determine was found by a steel detectorist in Harlow, Essex, in 2024. Flat and hole on the again aspect, the three-dimensionally modeled entrance depicts a big feminine feline squatting on her haunches together with her forelimbs resting on a male human head. Her tail is tucked below her rear and the curls over the bottom. The animal is incised with traces which might be stylized renditions of musculature. Two small circles might point out a leopard fur sample. (The Latin phrase for panther (pantera) was the phrase for leopard too.)
The pinnacle is absolutely lined with a cap of hair represented by parallel traces from pate to brow. A moustache and beard additionally drawn in parallel traces body a slotted mouth. The parallel traces of the beard are drawn over the bottom, too, design overlapping construction because it does with the panther’s tail. The eyes are lentoid in form and closed, topped by line-drawn eyebrows. A straight line down the brow meets curved traces above the eyebrows that recommend a furrowed forehead.
It’s roughly 4.5 inches lengthy, 4 inches excessive and 1.7 inches extensive. The unmodelled hole again of the cat is crammed with lead. Its flatness is proof that it was a becoming mounted to a flat floor. The comparatively small measurement of the piece suggests it wasn’t mounted on to a carriage or wagon however moderately to the strap that related a draft animal to a yoke.
The hair and beard mark the determine as a barbarian in accordance with Greco-Roman iconography. The closed eyes point out he’s a useless barbarian. Useless or captive barbarians are rife in Roman artwork, symbols of the Empire’s conquests, however they’re usually discovered on battle scenes, in sculptures, reliefs, mosaics, frescoes and cash, and they don’t seem to be paired with unique beasts. The closest comparable becoming in England is a feminine panther together with her entrance paw resting on a medallion bearing the face of Jupiter Ammon, long-haired and bearded, so not a barbarian in any respect, now within the Colchester Museum.
