Ipswich Torc Terminal Pendant

The gold original is on one of four Torcs, or collars, found at Ipswich, Suffolk in 1968 and now on display in the British Museum, London. The four Torcs were found in a field by a farmer when ploughing. Thinking they were ‘bucket handles or something’ he threw them in a ditch. Urged on by his wife, he recovered them the next day, took them to Ipswich Museum where they were identified as solid gold Torcs. They were later bought by the British Museum for £48,000. Reproductions were made that are on display at Ipswich Museum.

The Torc, made of gold, is a circular necklet formed of two rods of hexagonal cross-section, twisted together. Decorated terminals, modelled in wax were attached at each end and cast in position using the ‘Lost Wax’ (cire – perdu) technique. The modelling of the wax shows the marks of the spatula scratches and smoothing strokes. The pointed end was used to make grooves along strands of wax to simulate twisted wire, confining the decorated area, at the centre and edge of the reproduction of the terminal. Height 46mm