Bowl, bowl handle

A U-shaped drop handle, cast, with an octagonal cross section, the facets on the underside are decorated with six lines of beading. The handle tapers at each end, which is turned back to form a deep loop for suspension, each loop decorated with a finely detailed swan head, each bill forming a terminal. The details of neck feathers, eye and bill are deeply incised and are particularly well preserved on one side, but were originally as well worked on both sides, suggesting that the handle was viewed from both sides.

It is likely be a swing-handle from a vessel, probably a small wine bucket probably made of copper alloy, although it could have been used on a heavy glass flask. The style of the birds’ heads is Celtic in design and birds, especially aquatic birds are frequently seen in Celtic iconography. Swan heads can be seen in more stylized forms on other handles in the collections.