Copper alloy incense tongs
Copper alloy charcoal tongs bearing the inscription DONA NOBIS PACEM, found near the monumental fountain of the Saint-Piat collegiate church
Copper alloy charcoal tongs bearing the inscription DONA NOBIS PACEM, found near the monumental fountain of the Saint-Piat collegiate church
General characteristics
Title:
Copper alloy incense tongs
Identification:
Copper alloy tongs for burning incense, with rectangular arms ending in chamfered tips and an omega-shaped spring
Dimensions:
L. 120 × W. 19 × Th. 1 mm
Date:
16th century (provostship of Jean II Carondelet, between 1520 and 1545)
Place and year of discovery:
Rue Jean-Jaurès, Seclin, 2024
Inventory no.:
159780_111_3053_2
Collection:
Archaeological collection of the city of Seclin
Description
These copper alloy tongs were used to handle the burning charcoal needed to burn incense. Their rectangular arms end in chamfered tips and their spring forms an omega shape.
They were found near a hexagonal monumental fountain built in the 16th century, probably during the provostship of Jean II Carondelet, between 1520 and 1545. The object was used for private prayer: it allowed the user to handle the embers required to burn incense.
Personalised by its owner, a Gothic Latin inscription runs along both arms of the tongs: DONA NOBIS PACEM (“Grant us peace”), a formula introduced into the Catholic liturgy by Pope Sergius I in 687.
© Ville de Seclin