1977.216.269: Loom Weight

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1977.216.269

Title

Loom Weight

Classification

Tools and Equipment

Work Type

weight

Culture

Greek

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/287579

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Terracotta

Dimensions

8.34 x 5.02 cm (3 5/16 x 2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Purchased at Athens.
Gift of George Pfeiffer to the Department of the Classics, 1905.
Transfer from the Department of the Classics, 1977.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, Gift of Pfeiffer-Hartwell Collection

Accession Year

1977

Object Number

1977.216.269

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Pear-shaped piece of pink clay, hole pierced below point or top on weight. Part of the Pfeiffer-Hartwell collection, purchased in Athens. On one side, above the bulge of maximum thickness, is an oval stamp depicting an amphora. Below the stamp, under the curve of the bulge, is an incompletely impressed oblong stamp which depicts three Greek letters: gamma, lamda, upsilon, possibly followed by fourth. The letters are sprawling but neatly made. This was presumably a weight for a loom or a net, compare Hesperia XVIII.4 (1949) pl. 101 no.126 of the late fifth century. (HSCP vol. 72, 1968)

Exhibition History

• 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/02/2023 - 12/30/2023; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/20/2024 - 05/05/2024; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/31/2024 - 01/05/2025

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