Incorrect Username, Email, or Password
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.57
Title
Bone Bodkin
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
needle
Date
2nd-5th century
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/178406

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3620, University Study Gallery
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bone
Technique
Carved
Dimensions
14.86 cm (5 7/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
The Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University (before 1970-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
2012
Object Number
2012.1.57
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

Description
Carved bone bodkin, with a flat head. The shaft tapers to a dull point. An oblong hole (the eye) is carved in the head and flanked by two smaller circular holes above and below.
Commentary
A bodkin had many uses but was perhaps most typically used to thread laces made of cords or ribbons. It may also have been used as a clothing fastener.

Publication History

  • John Crawford, Sidney Goldstein, George M. A. Hanfmann, John Kroll, Judith Lerner, Miranda Marvin, Charlotte Moore, and Duane Roller, Objects of Ancient Daily Life. A Catalogue of the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection Belonging to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, ed. Jane Waldbaum, Department of the Classics (unpublished manuscript, 1970), BI45, p. 142 [J. A. Lerner]

Exhibition History

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

Subjects and Contexts

  • Roman Domestic Art

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