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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.11.A
Title
Spoon
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
spoon
Date
2nd-5th century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303994

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Brass
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
16.4 x 4.5 x 1.3 cm (6 7/16 x 1 3/4 x 1/2 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Brass
Alloying Elements: copper, zinc
Other Elements: lead, iron

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is grayish brown with green corrosion. Some losses to the bowl are present. The spoon was made by casting the rough shape and then working to further shape the bowl of the spoon and finish the surface.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 1932.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894
Accession Year
1932
Object Number
1932.56.11.A
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The round bowl of this spoon is large and shallow. There are chips along the edges and a large hole in the center. The handle is diamond-shaped in section and terminates in two crudely executed collars and a lumpy finial (1).

It is difficult to date this type of spoon closely. Examples have been published and dated to the Roman period generally (2), although others have been dated to the post-medieval period (3).

NOTES:

1. This spoon is quite similar to 1932.56.11.C and 2012.1.71.

2. See G. Zampieri and B. Lavarone, eds., Bronzi antichi del Museo Archaeologico di Padova, exh. cat., Museo Archeologico Padova (Rome, 2000) 198-201, nos. 397.a-s, 398.a-p, and 400.a-c. See also the range of Roman spoons in M. Garsson, ed., Une histoire d’alliage: Les bronzes antiques des réserves du Musée d’Archéologie Méditerranéenne, exh. cat. (Marseille, 2004) 42, nos. 60-65.

3. See examples recorded by Britain’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, such as inv. nos. SOM-50DA73 and LANCUM-5C95F5, which are dated to the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries CE; and Zampieri and Lavarone 2000 (supra 2) 203, nos. 405.a-c.


David Smart and Lisa M. Anderson

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes
  • Roman Domestic Art

Related Works

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