> maybe they were a journeyman piece for bronze crafters If this were the case, shouldn't there be makers' marks on them? Something to identify them as being t

> maybe they were a journeyman piece for bronze crafters If this were the case, shouldn't there be makers' marks on them? Something to identify them as being the work of a journeyman level artisan hoping to use it to prove their worth? Otherwise, one could fraudulently present someone else's work as there own, and undermine the system. I feel that if they were really part of a 'graduation portfolio' for crafters, it would be much more obvious. Something like an inscription that says "crafted by Albertus in the 14th year of the Emperor Foo". I like your fizz-buzz theory. If the object is a one-and-done throw away, then you might not bother to put your mark on it.