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A Medieval Brass Mortar from South Wales and its Affinities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2011

J. M. Lewis
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Summary

Ten medieval ribbed mortars from British collections, only three with known provenances, are described, and their relationship with the Hispano-Moresque and Islamic series of such vessels discussed. They have been sampled for analysis of the alloys used in their manufacture, most being found to be alloys which would today be referred to as ‘leaded bronze’ or ‘leaded gunmetal’. The Deptford mortar, however, was found to be made from an impure copper, and the Coity vessel from a ‘leaded brass’.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 64 , Issue 2 , September 1984 , pp. 326 - 336
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 1984

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References

Notes

1 Acknowledgement for allowing access to, and permitting study and drawing of, material, for supplying photographs and allowing their publication, and for carrying out analyses, are due to the Ashmolean Museum, the Bristol City Museum, the Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities, the Department of Oriental Antiquities and the Research Laboratory at the British Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Museum of London, the Department of Metalwork at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Mr. Peter R. G. Hornsby. Further thanks for advice and assistance are due to Dr. James W. Allan, Mr. Claude Blair, F.S.A., Mr. P. D. C. Brown, F.S.A., Mr. John Cherry, F.S.A., Mr. John Clark, F.S.A., Dr. Paul Craddock, F.S.A., Mr. Robin Crichton, Mr. David Dawson, Mr. Michael Helston, Mr. Peter Hornsby, Mr. Arthur MacGregor, F.S.A., Dr. F. R. Maddison, F.S.A., Miss Ann Murray, Mr. A. R. E. North, F.S.A., Dr. J. M. Rogers, F.S.A., Dr. J. Zozaya.

2 Memoirs Illustrative of the History and Antiquities of Bristol, Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institution of Great Britain and Ireland (London, 1853)Google Scholar.

3 Williams, Leonard, The Arts and Crafts of Older Spain, 1 (London, 1907), p. 173Google Scholar, pl. XXXIII.

4 Golvin, L., ‘Sur quelque mortiers de bronze trouvé’s récemment à proximité de la côte Oranaise’, Ann. de l'Institut d'Études Orientates (Université d'Alger), xx (1962), pp. 241–76Google Scholar.

5 M. Gomez-Moreno, Ars Hispaniae, iii (1951), fig. 394; see also The Arts of Islam, Arts Council of Great Britain (1976), no. 174.

6 Jon, G. F., ‘La coleccion de morteros del Museo de la Farmacia Hispana’, Boletin de la Sociedad Española al Historia de la Farmacia, xvii, 68 (1966), pp. 152–4Google Scholar and figs.; da Silva, Martins, ‘A evolução do almofariz peninsular do século XIII ao século XIX’, Belas-Artes, series 2A (Lisbon, 1975), nos. 28–9, pp. 45–53Google Scholar and figs.

7 cf. da Silva, op. cit., figs. 5 and 6.

8 Museo retrospectivo de farmacia y medicina de los laboratorios del norte de España, catalogue (Barcelona, 1952), pp. 29–30Google Scholar.

9 Da Silva, op. cit. (note 6).

10 cf. Lise, G., Antichi mortai di farmacia (Milan, 1975)Google Scholar.

11 Dexel, Walter, Das Hausgerät Mitteleuropas, 2nd edn. (1973), nos. 230–1, 233–7.Google Scholar

12 Moshe b. Maymon (Maimonides), 1135–1204, born at Cordoba, and the Andalusian Abu Muhammad ‘Abd Allah b. Ahmad b. al-Baytar (d.1248) were both the authors of learned works on materia medica (F. R. Maddison and A. J. Turner, unpublished version of Catalogue of Science and Technology in Islam in Museum of the History of Science, Oxford).

13 cf. Kühnel, E., ‘Ein persischer Bronzemörser’ in Festschrift für Erich Meyer (Hamburg, 1957), pp. 32–4Google Scholar. In considering ‘teardrop’ mortars, Kühnel thought that elongated projections might belong to an earlier phase, and quoted a vessel at Berlin: no. 1280A in the section by Harari, R. in Pope, A. U., Survey of Persian Art, in (London, 1939), p. 2485Google Scholar.

14 cf. Melikian-Chirvani, A. S., Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World, Victoria and Albert Museum catalogue (London, 1982)Google Scholar, nos. 68 and 69 (207–1892 and 466–1876); Fehéiváii, G., Islamic Metalworkfrom the 8th to the 15th century in the Keir Collection (London, 1976)Google Scholar, no. 88; E. Kühnel, op. cit.

15 See Rogers, J. M. in Bibliotheca Orientalis, xxxiv, no. 3/4 (1977), pp. 241–2.Google Scholar

16 cf. Melikian-Chirvani, op. cit. (note 14), 66, fig. 34, and no. 67; Maddison, F. R. and Turner, A. J., ‘Pharmacy, mortars and measurement’ in Catalogue of Science and Technology Islam, Science Museum (London, 1976)Google Scholar, no. 254.

17 Dr. J. M. Rogers, F.S.A., reports three mortars of the type here under discussion on display in Van Museum, as well as several for sale in the bazaar at Diyarbetir. No details are available for comparison.

18 cf. British Museum 1907.11–9.1, 3 and (Department of Oriental Antiquities); Fitzwilliam Museum, M22–1952 and M5–1955 (see Proc. Cambridge Antiq. Soc. xxxii (1932), pp. 24–32, pl. v, fig. 19: ‘Egyptian 1347–61’); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (‘Spanish, end of 16th century’); G. Lise, op. cit. (note 10), no. vii (‘15th century, Umbria’); Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, and Museum of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, London (see Maddison and Turner, op. cit. note 16), nos. 257 and 258).

19 Once again I am indebted to Dr. Rogers, for drawing my attention to these vessels in the museum at Trabzon (nos. 78–2/1 and 78–3/37), and to Trabzon Museum for supplying photographs through the Turkish Tourist and Information Office. A further globular mortar in the Museum's collection (78–3/34) appears to lack the fins but to be similar in other respects.

20 cf. Proc. Cambridge Antiq. Soc. xxxii (1932), pp. 24–32Google Scholar, pl. v, fig. 18 (‘Egyptian, probably late 15th century’); Museo retrospective de farmacia y medicina de los labor atarios del norte de España, catalogue (Barcelona, 1952), p. 30, nos. 54–6 (‘Moroccan’).

21 G. Fehérv´ri, op. cit. (note 14), no. 16, pl.

22 Lewis, J. M. and Evans, D. H., ‘Southern European imported pottery in Wales’, Medieval and Later Pottery in Wales, v (1982), pp. 78–88Google Scholar.

23 Ibid., pp. 77–8.

24 Allan, James W., Persian Metal Technology 700–1300 A.D. (Oxford, 1979), pp. 45Google Scholar and 143–4 (table 21).

25 I am indebted to ProfessorGriffiths, Ralph A. for this suggestion; he cites Morgannwg, vii (1963), pp. 21Google Scholar, 26 and 28–9; xiv (1970), pp. 9–10 ;J. Hist. Soc. of the Church in Wales, 1978.