Can you guess what these unusual objects are? They are part of the Hoxne treasure, an important British Museum hoard that is part of our hoards dataset.
Catherine Johns, who published the hoard, suggested they were brush tools – the empty sockets that you can see would once have contained fine fibres, probably animal hair. Examples have been found in archaeological contexts that still contain these fibres, but in most contexts, once buried in the earth, they would rot away. The other end of the objects can also be used as a tool – each has a tiny flat scoop. There are a few clues about the use of the objects in the motifs that decorate them. The hand holding a sphere (an apple), can be understood as indirect allusion to the goddess Venus, who won a golden apple in a beauty contest. The dolphins, meanwhile, allude to her birth from the sea. It’s been suggested that the tools may have been used to apply make-up, and Venus-related decoration would be very appropriate, as she was the goddess of love and beauty.
Reference:
C. Johns, The Hoxne Late Roman Treasure: Gold Jewellery and Silver Plate (British Museum Press: London, 2010)