pattes mordent le disque

English translation: two tabs/attachments side by side... that grip the disc

18:59 Sep 16, 2017
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Archaeology / mirror assemblage
French term or phrase: pattes mordent le disque
Hi again!
DOC: 1907 Museum catalog of ancient Egyptian mirrors. The whole catalog entry. No plate or figure for this one.
CONTEXT: 44061. Disque de miroir. - Cuivre ou bronze. - Haut. 0 m. 173 mill. (0 m. 03 cent. pour la tige), larg. 0 m. 158 mill., épaiss. 0 m. 001 mill. - Mahasnèh, fouilles de Garstang, 1901-1902. Plat, sans ornement ni inscription. La tige est faite de deux pattes juxtaposées, longues de 45 millimètres qui mordent le disque. L'oxydation recouvre le tout d'une couche épaisse. BIBL.: Journal d'entrée du Musée, n° 34881.
DISCLOSURE: I asked at WordReference.com and there was this suggestion from one kind brave soul: limbs/clawed legs that hug/clasp the disk -- but I don't really think it fits.
ATTEMPTS: The tang is made of two juxtaposed limbs/clips/pins/claws, 4.5 cm long, which grip the disk.
ISSUE: This is a doozy, legs/paws that bite!!! I've seen everything from grappling hooks to hinges and lugs in tech dictionaries and ProZ database, nothing seems to fit.
Thanks in advance for any ideas and opinions!
angela3thomas
United States
English translation:two tabs/attachments side by side... that grip the disc
Explanation:
Although "mordre" can mean to encroach upon, to overun a certain limit (e.g. "mordre la ligne centrale" when driving), I think that here there may be an idea of them holding, gripping something in place. I see you have considered that idea already.

I suppose you either have attachments holding something in place or tabs extending beyond a particular edge to hold something in place.

Do you have an illustration?



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Note added at 1 day15 hrs (2017-09-18 10:10:35 GMT)
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Or if it is "mordre" in the sens of overunning a limit, then perhaps an idea of "overlapping onto the disc" may work.
Selected response from:

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 18:23
Grading comment
Thank you! Thanks also to Christopher Crockett for the valuable additional info.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4paws grasping the disk of the mirror
Christopher Crockett
3two tabs/attachments side by side... that grip the disc
Nikki Scott-Despaigne


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


1 day 15 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
deux pattes juxtaposées ... qui mordent le disque
two tabs/attachments side by side... that grip the disc


Explanation:
Although "mordre" can mean to encroach upon, to overun a certain limit (e.g. "mordre la ligne centrale" when driving), I think that here there may be an idea of them holding, gripping something in place. I see you have considered that idea already.

I suppose you either have attachments holding something in place or tabs extending beyond a particular edge to hold something in place.

Do you have an illustration?



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day15 hrs (2017-09-18 10:10:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or if it is "mordre" in the sens of overunning a limit, then perhaps an idea of "overlapping onto the disc" may work.

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 18:23
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 35
Grading comment
Thank you! Thanks also to Christopher Crockett for the valuable additional info.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 day 18 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
paws grasping the disk of the mirror


Explanation:
The first question is, is the phrase "deux pattes juxtaposées" to be taken literally (i.e., two animal "paws") or figuratively (two tabs/elements)?

I'm inclined to believe the former is the case --the Egyptians were so imaginative in their ability to impart "organic" elements to non-living entities, thus "animating" them in a remarkable fashion.

Think of the (very frequently found) ANKH sign equipped with a pair of arms with hands, which allows it to interact in the world; or the ends of the rays emanating from the solar disk which terminate in little hands which caress the devotees of the Aton.

I take "juxtaposée" to imply that the paws were symmetrically placed on each side of the disk --probably extending from the handle (which, note, appears to be lacking)

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Note added at 1 day18 hrs (2017-09-18 13:39:49 GMT)
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As usual, B. does not venture a date for this exemplar, but here's a (surely much later) mirror from Greece which --interestingly enough-- has the disk being held in the paws of two griffins:

http://tinyurl.com/yd9g2kro

http://tinyurl.com/y9mupgsd

The missing(?) handle on our #44061 might have been in something more perishable (like ivory) or more valuable (silver/gold), and might have been in the form of an animal or hybrid creature.

Or the "tang" might have been much simpler in form

http://tinyurl.com/ybps7nhw

the "paws" being the only decoration (much as the "claw feet" are the only vestiges of an animal to be seen on a chair or table).

Whichever might have been the case (and we really can't tell, without seeing the damned thing), I'd go for a literal translation of "pattes" as "paws," with "mordent" implying "gripping firmly" or "grasping."

Clearly, a picture would be worth a thousand words --in any language.

Christopher Crockett
Local time: 13:23
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 131
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