Schnabelkanne, beak-spouted flagon

A beak-spouted flagon of beaten bronze on a splayed base with a bulbous shoulder, narrow neck and flat rimmed pouring mouth. The cast handle has a terminal on the body, decorated with a palmette, S-spirals and scrolls ending in a lotus flower above and a lyre below. Above, the handle forks ending in two animal heads with setback ears appearing to represent crouching felines. This is a type known as 'Schnabelkanne', a distinctly 'Celtic' style manufactured from the late sixth-century BC in Etruria. They were often placed in Celtic princely graves and traces of wine have been found in some flagons.