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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1939.135
Title
Key
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
key
Date
1st Millennium CE
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/312119

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Brass
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
5.2 x 3.1 cm (2 1/16 x 1 1/4 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Brass:
Cu, 85; Sn, 1.36; Pb, 1.43; Zn, 11.65; Fe, 0.17; Ni, 0.1; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.04; As, 0.2; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.022; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: Several areas have been cleaned down to a smooth brown patina, but most areas are slightly obscured by a layer of green malachite with underlying red cuprite. The surface is fairly well preserved, although somewhat obscured by corrosion products.

The object is intact, although some loss of surface detail has occurred. The key and ring were made separately by lost-wax casting. The ring was inserted into an opening at the end of the key, which was then hammered slightly closed to secure the ring. The designs in the surface appear to be engraved. The thickness of the elements and their complex three-dimensional shape give the impression they were cast. Deformations at the mouths of the holes indicate they were drilled, and the grooves are striated and appear to have been cut by abrasive cold working. The key teeth and end hole were also cut by cold working. The key shaft was closed around the (integral) pin of the hinged ring by pressure or hammering.


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

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Excavated from Antioch, sector 17-O (no. a-499-U554) (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 the Fogg Art Museum, 1939.


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
1939
Object Number
1939.135
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
This key has an elaborately decorated handle ring with five small eyelets, various decorative elements, and a hollow shaft that swings freely from the handle. Two short, rectangular teeth rise perpendicularly from the end of the rectangular protrusion.

Keys with handles that rotate separately from the shafts are one of the typical features of Byzantine turning keys, although the handle ring on this example is unusual (1).

NOTES:

1. Compare G. Vikan and J. Nesbitt, Security in Byzantium: Locking, Sealing, Weighing (Washington, DC, 1980) 4, nos. 3-8.


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

Related Digital Tours

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