Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Unable to open [object Object]: HTTP 0 attempting to load TileSource: https://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/iiif/47331690/info.json
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1940.141
Title
Wick Holder
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
tool/equipment
Date
1st Millennium
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Antioch (Syria)
Find Spot: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey)
Period
Byzantine period
Culture
Byzantine?
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304053

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Hammered
Dimensions
8 x 2.5 x 0.6 cm (3 1/8 x 1 x 1/4 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina is black with metal showing through and small spots of green. The metal retains much of its spring and flexibility, but corrosion has resulted in many brittle losses at the edges and at one of the gripping ends. The object is well preserved but has been aggressively cleaned, evidenced by numerous scratches on the surface. The wick holder was made from a single sheet of copper alloy hammered to a fairly uniform thickness (c. 0.3 mm) and to a spring hardness. A rectangular sheet (c. 1 cm x 8 cm) was cut lengthwise to within 1 cm of the opposite end. The un-cut end was then folded over into a roll to form and to secure the opposing ends of the pincers. Flattening of the metal appears to have been done by rolling the sheet metal, with some subsequent hammering. This is evident in the irregular shapes of the edges along one side in contrast to the relatively straight edges on the other side.


Carol Snow and Henry Lie (submitted 2002, updated 2010)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Excavated from Antioch, sector 13-R (no. c493-U774) (Turkey, Hatay) by the Syrian Department of Antiquities (later the Hatay government) and the Committee for the Excavation of Antioch and Its Vicinity, (1935-1939), dispersed; to Fogg Art Museum, 1940.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Committee for the Excavation of Antioch and its Vicinity
Accession Year
1940
Object Number
1940.141
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

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
A single piece of metal forms flat arms of unequal thickness, which retain their springiness. The apex is rolled and hollow. This instrument may have been used as a wick holder for a glass polycandelon lamp (1).

NOTES:

1. See C. Kondoleon, Antioch: The Lost Ancient City, exh. cat., Worcester Art Museum; The Cleveland Museum of Art; and The Baltimore Museum of Art (Princeton, 2000) 83-84, fig. 5.

David Smart

Exhibition History

  • Antioch-on-the-Orontes: Excavating an Early Byzantine City, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library & Collection, Washington, 04/07/2010 - 10/10/2010

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

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