File:Medieval to Post Medieval crucible base fragment (external view) (FindID 117621).jpg

English: The object is a probable base fragment from a crucible or mould which David Symons (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery) suggests possibly dates to the 15th to 17th centuries, or Late Medieval to Post Medieval. The object is ceramic and is incomplete.

The material is mid pinkish-red in the centre, and is very hard and brittle which suggests that the object has been heated at a very high temperature, either over or in a fire. The material has occasional sub-rounded inclusions of quartz (less than 1mm). The fragment is 99.4mm x 69.9mm at the base, 53.1mm high and 34.1mm thick. The objects weight exceeds the weight of the scales which is 200g. The external face has a patchy coating from two different types of material. One is dark brown-yellow in colour, while the other is dark black and vitrified. The former appears to coat the latter, which suggests that the yellow material was possibly later then the vitrified material. The base of the object has dark black and purple patches where is has been heated. The internal face of the crucible has a thin and uneven mid-grey metal residue coating its surface. The fragment was taken to Jane Thompson-Webb (Collection Care Officer Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery) who suggested that the metal was white metal alloy most probably silver. The silver is thought to be a waste product of the metalworking process, caused by not being able to clean out the inside of the crucible after use, rather than representing an actual fragment of silver itself. The diameter of the base of the object can be estimated by measuring the curvature of the base, which in this instance is approximately 5.5cm.