Handle

One side of solid-cast bail handle, centre part missing, attached to a pair of plates to fit an oblong vessel, perhaps an oval cista or lid. The handle is round in section at the ends and curves back to swing in the attachment ring; it ends in a simple lotus-bud finial at each end. The attachment plaques are crescent-shaped with a large, upright ring toward the inner curve of the crescent; the ring has a single sharp spur or hook on its inner face. Each plaque has a thin ridge around its outer edge, and the upper surface is decorated in shallow relief with a Gorgon head with bulging round eyes, large nose and open mouth with protruding tongue; long waving strands of coarse hair radiate from it to either side. The underside of the plaques is smooth so they must have been attached by solder.