Casgliadau Arlein

The mount has a brown patina and in itself compete. It is in the form of the head of a large cat. The cat is depicted with ears facing to the rear and mouth open, showing its canine teeth, now damaged. The brow ridges are prominent over the recessed eyes and the snout is well defined. The rear of the mount has a rounded right-angled recess to accommodate whatever object the mount was attached to. Traces of solder appear to survive within the recess. The recess appears to be without any curvature across the width of the mount.

It probably once adorned a vessel, the lack of curvature to it making it most suitable as decoration for a jug lid or similar. It is also possible the mount could have been attached to box or casket. The moulding of the cat’s head can be paralleled in the leopard handle of a cup found at Abergavenny dating to the 1st or 2nd century AD.