Harvard Art Museums > 2001.270.59: Mold for Casting Openwork Ornaments Tools and Equipment Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Mold for Casting Openwork Ornaments , 2001.270.59,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/143084. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2001.270.59 Title Mold for Casting Openwork Ornaments Classification Tools and Equipment Work Type mold Date late 7th-8th century CE Places Creation Place: Europe, Eastern Europe Period Middle Ages, Early Culture Avar Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/143084 Physical Descriptions Medium Limestone Technique Carved Dimensions 2.2 x 6.9 x 4.7 cm (7/8 x 2 11/16 x 1 7/8 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: Included in the copper alloy belt ornament group (2001.270.1 to 2001.270.58) is a stone mold with carving on two sides: one finished, the other apparently unfinished. The finished side has a well-defined cut for a sprue and a hole used to key the stone to the other half of a two-part mold. It is possible that this mold was used to produce wax models for use in lost-wax casting, rather than the metal ornaments themselves. Carol Snow 10/21/2002 Provenance Recorded Ownership History The donor Bruce Ferrini, a leading dealer in manuscripts and early writing situated in Akron, Ohio has had these objects for some time. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Bruce Ferrini Accession Year 2001 Object Number 2001.270.59 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Two-sided limestone mold for casting openwork ornaments. The engraved pattern shows a griffin (?) inside a rectangle, with hinge. The other side appears to carry an abandoned attempt at the the same motif. Drill-hole and channel provided on both sides, but there are no traces of actual use. Publication History Ivan Gaskell, "After Art, Beyond Beauty", Inspiration and Technique: Ancient to Modern Views on Beauty and Art, ed. John Roe and Michele Stanco, Peter Lang (Oxford, 2007), 311-34., p. 317-24, fig. 2 [as 2001.270.1]. Exhibition History Tangible Things, The Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Cambridge, 01/24/2011 - 05/29/2011 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/11/2015 - 05/10/2015 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu