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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1920.44.253
Title
Key
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
key
Date
1st-4th century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304055

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
5 x 2.2 x 0.7 cm (1 15/16 x 7/8 x 1/4 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 81.38; Sn, 3.82; Pb, 14.27; Zn, 0.092; Fe, 0.01; Ni, 0.04; Ag, 0.26; Sb, 0.13; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina consists of various greens, red, and black with brown deposits. The object is worn but intact. The key was made by lost-wax casting.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1920.

Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton
Accession Year
1920
Object Number
1920.44.253
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
This slide key has a four-sided shaft that tapers from the hoop to the teeth. The three rounded teeth of the key form a right angle to the handle. The hoop is quite worn on the side where it joins to the handle (1). A key of this type would have been suspended from a chain or rope (2).

NOTES:
1. A similar key was found at Boğazkale, Turkey; see R. Boehmer, Die Kleinfunde von Boğazköy, Boğazköy-Hattusa 7 (Berlin, 1972) 158, no. 1650, pl. 55.

2. For the general type, compare Los bronces romanos en España, exh. cat., Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Palacio de Velazquez (Madrid, 1990) 271, nos. 203-204; and G. Zampieri and B. Lavarone, eds., Bronzi antichi del Museo Archaeologico di Padova, exh. cat. Museo Archeologico Padova (Rome, 2000) 188-89, nos. 357-61.


David Smart

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/28/2023 - 05/07/2023; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/20/2024 - 05/05/2024

Subjects and Contexts

  • Roman Domestic Art
  • Ancient Bronzes

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