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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.13
Title
Bone Label or Game Counter
Classification
Recreational Artifacts
Work Type
game piece
Date
1st Century BCE-2nd Century CE
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/178637

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bone
Technique
Carved
Dimensions
6.58 x 0.6 cm (2 9/16 x 1/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: A . I . TRYPHO // XXVII

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Walton Brooks McDaniel, New Jersey (?-1943/46), gift; to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University (1943/46-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.

Note: Walton Brooks McDaniel gave a portion of his collection to the Department of the Classics in 1943 and the rest in 1946. The Collection is named for his late wife, Alice Corinne McDaniel.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
2012
Object Number
2012.1.13
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Long, thin ivory or bone label. One end has a hole drilled through it and is rounded to form a loop. On one side, "A. I. TRYPHO" is inscribed; on the other, the number 27 (XXVII) is inscribed. The object is intact with some green discoloration.
Commentary
Inscribed bone and ivory labels of this type are often called "gladiators' tickets." They are thought to have been given to gladiators who had been discharged and no longer had to fight in the arena.

Publication History

  • John Crawford, Sidney Goldstein, George M. A. Hanfmann, John Kroll, Judith Lerner, Miranda Marvin, Charlotte Moore, and Duane Roller, Objects of Ancient Daily Life. A Catalogue of the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection Belonging to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, ed. Jane Waldbaum, Department of the Classics (unpublished manuscript, 1970), BI53, p. 145-46 [J. A. Lerner]

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