Harvard Art Museums > 1978.495.114: Hairpin with Decorated Top 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"Hairpin with Decorated Top , 1978.495.114,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/174358. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1978.495.114 Title Hairpin with Decorated Top Classification Tools and Equipment Work Type needle Date 300-400 CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe Period Roman Imperial period, Late Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/174358 Physical Descriptions Medium Bone Technique Carved Dimensions 9.3 cm (3 11/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, transfer; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1978. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Accession Year 1978 Object Number 1978.495.114 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 This carved, bone hairpin is in two pieces--a bulbous head and tapered shaft. Incised geometric designs cover the surface. On the shaft, are a series of three rings and a cross hatch of oblique lines. On the head, are a pattern of crosshatch and a series of three bands, forming a spiral pattern. Commentary Hairpins such as this were used by women of the elite classes to secure their elaborate coiffures. Pins were made of different materials including bone, ivory, and precious metals and were often decorated with elaborate designs including images of women with intricate hairstyles, the goddess Aphrodite, or Isis--both figures associated with women (1). Other examples, such as this, displayed decorative motifs. Notes: 1. For a hairpin fragment displaying the elaborate hairstyle for which it was designed see an example in Dumbarton Oaks Collection, inv. 47.1, in Ioli Kalavrezou, Byzantine Women and their World (Cambridge: Harvard University Art Museums, 2003). p. 258-259, no. 149. Publication History Ioli Kalavrezou, Byzantine Women and Their World, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2003), p. 259/fig. 151 Exhibition History Byzantine Women and Their World, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/25/2002 - 04/28/2003 Subjects and Contexts Roman Domestic Art Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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
