Harvard Art Museums > 2012.1.4: Key in Form of Finger Ring Tools and Equipment Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Key in Form of Finger Ring , 2012.1.4,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 19, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/186526. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2012.1.4 Title Key in Form of Finger Ring Classification Tools and Equipment Work Type key Date 1st-2nd century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World Period Roman Imperial period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/186526 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Cast, lost-wax process Dimensions 1.8 x 2.1 cm (11/16 x 13/16 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The surface is metallic yellow. It is pitted as a result of removing all corrosion using an electrolytic cleaning procedure. The key was probably cast from a directly formed wax model. The key section could have been refined with a cutting tool after casting, but the corroded condition of the surface makes this difficult to determine. The ring hoop was probably created as a strip that was bent into a circle and joined in the wax stage to one side of the key element, as indicated by a slight flaw in the piece and a thickening of the form. The decorative indentations on the latter could have been made either in the wax or in the metal. Henry Lie and Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Walton Brooks McDaniel, New Jersey (?-1943/46), gift; to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, (1943/46-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012. Note: Walton Brooks McDaniel gave a portion of his collection to the Department of the Classics in 1943 and the rest in 1946. The Collection is named for his late wife, Alice Corinne McDaniel. 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 2012.1.4 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 Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums The hoop of this ring is very thin; it is flattened and somewhat more prominent in the area where the key is attached. The key portion rises from a narrow tang, expanding into a flat square with a central cutout in a U-shape. Small finger-ring keys of this sort worked on rotary locks for boxes; wearing the key as a ring made the key more secure (1). NOTES: 1. See C. Johns, The Jewellery of Roman Britain: Celtic and Classical Traditions (London, 1996) 55-56. Compare M. Kohlert-Németh, Archäologische Reihe Römische Bronzen aus Nida-Heddernheim 2: Fundsachen aus dem Hausrat (Frankfurt, 1990) 28, no. 7. Lisa M. Anderson 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), M40, p. 167 [J. S. Crawford] Subjects and Contexts Ancient Bronzes Roman Domestic Art Related Works 2012.1.3 Key in Form of Finger Ring Tools and Equipment 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
