Decorated half round rod
Laugerie Basse, Dordogne, France
Antler
Length: 20.6 cms
The British Museum
Palart.209
This half round rod is decorated on both sides. The convex face is covered with an intricate pattern composed in three zones. Inside an incised zigzag line on one side, the central area is embellished with two rows of raised oblongs separated by incised parallel lines. The area at the complete end is engraved with a pattern of straight parallel lines whereas the opposite end has a group of incised diagonals. Unusually, the flat lower surface is also decorated with engraved diagonal lines that for part of the middle zone originate on opposite sides of a midline to form a herring motif that breaks into more random diagonals without the central spine.