Lead object found yesterday...

[jtalbot0001]

Any ideas on what this is? This is not the first time I have found this type of lead obect, it is egg shaped, very heavy, my digital scales are only 100g, but I know that this at least 200g in weight, and quite big, just over 6cm. Any feedback will be appreciated. This is from a new field I have got, and getting some sort of age to this will give me a small idea of what may be out there... Thanks Jon

[Chef Geoff]

Jon, it looks for all the world like a leather workers palm guard. Have you got a photograph of what is on your first photograph the base? They were commonly cast by using an oyster shell as the mould.

[jtalbot0001]

Hi Geoff, here are the other pictures, one being the underneath and the other being slightly angled, you can see some pattern on it, if that is what it is meant to be? Thanks.

[The Doc]

Like Geoff says, this type of object is usually described as a leather worker's palm guard, although this looks a bit chunkier than usual. See here, but read the note on identification on most of these:


http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showcat.php?cat=268

[Chef Geoff]

I must admit Peter I have often wondered why no damage is present from the needle, Though I did find a copper one, strangely in the same village that Jon lives and that one had and actual hole the centre of the recess to accept a needle, now in Weston museum.

[jtalbot0001]

Hi Peter, Thanks very much for your reply! I actually had a look just now on that database, and did read the description / information written on these. I see both on UKDFD and PAS, that both are not absolutely certain that, that is what they are, IE Palm Guards, which is interesting. I also tried to quickly research what Geoff mentioned, and what the UKDFD said, in that some may have been casted using Oyster Shells. Now I actually have two Shell Books, since I collected shells in South Africa, and can't quite see how the casting would have produced that pattern. In fact, the only closest pattern I can make out is a clam or cockle type shell that could maybe produce a pattern like that, and they are round, but even those are relatively smooth inside, infact most shells are, and the Oyster shells are smooth as well, well at least from the references I can see. But then some of you eat them out there, so if you happen to read this, you tell me, are the insides like the pattern on my Palm Guard? I also don't quite understand how it was used "The guard would have been wrapped in cloth or held in a pouch...", held in a pouch, what like some sort of glove that had a pouch which you inserted the lead guard into? And why were they made so heavy, surely it did not need to be that heavy to perform that function? Cheers, Jon

PS: Hey Geoff, see now you've confused me even more on how these things functioned, I thought they blocked the needle entirely, but now you say you found a bronze one that allowed a needle to go through it somewhat.....actually thinking about it, it would be better to allow the needle to go through else you are not going to make a hole without one, since you are blocking the needles path? Is that right......sorry if this bores some people but I think such a simple thing as this needs better understanding, and is quite interesting. Any pictures you kept of that bronze one at all Geoff?

[Chef Geoff]

No photo's I'm afraid Jon, way back before digital. Not sure if Weston still have it or it went to Bristol. It was part of the Villa display they had, I found it in the garden behind the Church.
The hole didn't go all the way through, it was just a shallow hole for the needle to slip into and anchor it, they were used to push the needle through.
OK one home made palm guard coming up lol. Take your lead guard, now put it onto a sponge, take a cloth and wrap around the lot. Cut a hole so that the top of the lead shows through and attach a thin strap underneath from one side of the sponge to the other so that your hand can slip through. Got it 

On the shell front, the shell was used to make an impression in clay for the shape so the marks would be the outside of the shell.
Lead was used so that when it was damaged it could be simply melted down and used again.