Empress pepper pot
The Hoxne hoard pepper pot, commonly known as the Empress pepper pot, although it now seems not to represent an empress, is a silver piperatorium, partially gilded, dating from around 400 AD. It was found as part of the Hoxne Hoard in Hoxne, Suffolk, in November 1992, and is now in the British Museum, where it is normally on display. It is a hollow silver statuette of the top half of a woman's body, with a mechanism to allow ground pepper or spices to be loaded into its base and then shaken out. The mechanism does not grind the pepper and has a rotatable disc with three positions. One position allows filling, another has fine holes to allow ground pepper out and another allows the pot to be closed. The pot was chosen as part of the 2010 BBC Radio 4 series, A History of the World in 100 Objects, as item 40.
| Empress pepper pot | |
|---|---|
The "Empress" Pepper Pot from the Hoxne Hoard on display in the British Museum | |
| Material | Silver (gilt) |
| Size | Height:103 mm (4.1 in) Diameter:33 mm (1.3 in) Weight:107.9 g |
| Created | 4th Century A.D. |
| Period/culture | Roman |
| Place | Hoxne, Suffolk |
| Present location | Room 49, British Museum, London |
| Registration | 1994,4-8 33 |