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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1977.216.1856
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/304223

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
6.7 x 2.2 x 1 cm (2 5/8 x 7/8 x 3/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 75.63; Sn, 3.62; Pb, 20.48; Zn, 0.04; Fe, 0.02; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.07; Sb, 0.11; 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 is blackish green. The object is intact but with casting flaws. The key was made by lost-wax casting.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, Gift of Oric Bates
Accession Year
1977
Object Number
1977.216.1856
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 shaft of this slide key is decorated with grooves and lines, some parallel and some crisscrossing. The three rectangular teeth of the key form a right angle to the shaft. There is a knob on the exterior of the far end of the hoop (1). A key of this type would have been suspended from a chain or rope (2).

NOTES:

1. Compare C. Vaudour, Clefs et serrures des origines au commencement de la Renaissance (Rouen, 1980) 13, no. 27.

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

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