1978.495.41: Key
Tools and EquipmentIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1978.495.41
- 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/310621
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Leaded bronze
- Technique
- Cast, lost-wax process
- Dimensions
- 5 x 2.3 cm (1 15/16 x 7/8 in.)
- Technical Details
-
Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 68.55; Sn, 4.63; Pb, 26.51; Zn, 0.01; Fe, 0.07; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.05; Sb, 0.15; 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. RiedererTechnical Observations: The patina consists of various greens 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
- Formerly in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
- Accession Year
- 1978
- Object Number
- 1978.495.41
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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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 thick and tapers from the hoop to the teeth. The three rectangular teeth of the key form a right angle to the shaft. There is an oblong bead-shaped 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