AXLE SHAFT BOX

Description These hollow objects were used to lock the wheel hub and to protect the axle end of wagons. The rectangular key, passing through two openings above the base, served to fix the case to the axle and was in turn locked by two pins inserted into the transverse holes of the key. In this specimen, the key (still removable), is shaped as a molded ram's head whose end fits perfectly into the moulded shape of the box. This specimen recalls the classical truncated cone shape with a wide round edge at the base, but the body presents an octagonal section that only becomes circulat towards the narrowing at the tip. The decoration is composed of three horizontal bands, at the base, top and middle part of the box, above the key's insertion holes.