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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1964.12.13.A
Title
Bolt
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
lock
Date
n.d.
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Sardis (Lydia)
Find Spot: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey), Western Türkiye (Turkey)
Culture
Unidentified culture
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304137

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
6.5 x 3.4 x 3.3 cm (2 9/16 x 1 5/16 x 1 5/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 66.29; Sn, 7.82; Pb, 25.1; Zn, 0.36; Fe, 0.23; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.07; Sb, 0.1; 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. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina of both the bolt (1964.12.13.A) and socket (1964.12.13.B) is green with areas of red, brown, and black. The bolt was fractured at one end prior to burial. 90% of the top of the tapered bolt is a brittle fracture; 10% is a deformation caused by a tool, which may have been used to cause the break. There are two chisel indentations (each 1 cm long) on one face of the bolt; the same tool made marks at the center of all four upper edges of the socket, perhaps to help set it into the floor. All of these marks pre-date corrosion. The c. 15 dents on one side of the bolt post-date the formation of corrosion and may have been caused by an excavation pick.

The bolt and socket were probably cast in clay molds. The socket may have been embedded in a floor to receive the bolt vertically. Red, white, and gray lead residue is present on the socket’s exterior to secure it, and the two bosses would have added mechanical traction.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Brought from Sardis; by Frederick Marquand Godwin, New York, (by 1914), by descent; to his wife Dorothy W. Godwin, New York (1914-1964), gift; to the Fogg Museum of Art, 1964.

Note: Frederick M. Godwin was the photographer for the excavations at Sardis with Howard Crosby Butler in 1913 and 1914.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Frederick M. Godwin
Accession Year
1964
Object Number
1964.12.13.A
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 solid rectangular bolt is broken at one end, although all other faces appear to be intact. The four long sides are smooth, and the angles of the corners are still sharp. The diameter tapers very slightly from the broken end to the intact end. This object fits neatly into the socket 1964.12.13.B, but the function of the two is unknown.

This object is one of a number of surface finds collected by the Sardis excavation photographer in 1913-1914. Because the objects are unstratified, it is difficult to assign dates and parallels.

Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • Jane Waldbaum, Metalwork from Sardis: The Finds through 1974, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA, 1983), p. 152, no. 1004 (with .B), pl. 58.

Subjects and Contexts

  • 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