Silver repoussé pepper pot with gold accents in the anthropomorphic form of a Roman empress from the Hoxne Hoard at the British Museum

Silver repoussé pepper pot with gold accents in the anthropomorphic form of a Roman empress from the Hoxne Hoard at the British Museum .
Repoussé is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. These techniques are very ancient and have been extensively used all over the world, as they require only the simplest tools and materials, and yet allow great diversity of expression. They are also relatively economical, since there is no loss or waste of metal, which mostly retains its original size and thickness. During the 3rd millennium BCE, in the Middle East, a variety of semi-mass production methods were introduced to avoid repetitive free-hand work. With the simplest technique, sheet gold could be pressed into designs carved in intaglio in stone, bone, metal or even materials such as jet. The gold could be worked into the designs with wood tools or, more commonly, by hammering a wax or lead "force" over it. The use of patterned punches dates at least as far back as the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE. The simplest patterned punches were produced by loops or scrolls of wire. The Egyptians of the Amarna period (about 1400 BCE) used resin and mud for repoussé backing. The famous gold mask of Tutankhamun is an example of Egyptian repoussé using a single sheet of gold. The Greeks of the 5th century BCE used beeswax for repoussé filler and used a combination of punches and dies to decorate armor breast plates, drinking and serving vessels, jewelry, crowns, and grave goods. The Romans also used the technique to produce examples like the erotic Warren Cup, Mildenhall Treasure, Water Newton Treasure, the Berthouville Treasure and this silver pepper pot with gold accents in the form of a Roman empress from the Hoxne Hoard.


Image: Silver repoussé pepper pot with gold accents in the anthropomorphic form of a Roman empress from the Hoxne Hoard at the British Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor BabelStone.

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