Harvard Art Museums > 2012.1.93: Bit for a Goat 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"Bit for a Goat , 2012.1.93,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, May 06, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/56971. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2012.1.93 Title Bit for a Goat Classification Tools and Equipment Work Type tool/equipment Date 1st-2nd century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World Period Roman Imperial period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/56971 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Cast, lost-wax process Dimensions 5 x 7.7 x 13.2 cm (1 15/16 x 3 1/16 x 5 3/16 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The patina is dark green with areas of red. Light tan burial accretions are present. A rough layer of corrosion products obscures much of the original surface. A projecting flange at the outside of the central curve of the bit could indicate that a projecting element has been lost. The smooth irregular shapes give the impression that the wax model for casting this object was fashioned directly in the wax. Henry Lie (submitted 2011) Provenance Recorded Ownership History [Bernheimer's Antique Arts, Cambridge, MA] (by 1965), sold; to the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University 1965-2012), 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 2012.1.93 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 bit is formed of a bar bent into a U-shape with a crossbar soldered onto it. The terminals of the bar are curved and in the shape of animal heads (perhaps serpents) with long snouts, open mouths, long tongues, and prominent raised circles for eyes. Metal tangs jut out from the backs of the animal heads. The bit was worn with the curved section over the animal’s nose and the crossbar between the teeth, with the reins attached to the curved terminals. Although it is difficult to find parallels for this piece or any definitive evidence that it was used as part of a goat’s bridle, iconographic representations of erotes (cupids) driving carts pulled by goats and other animals are found on sarcophagi, gems, and medallions (1). NOTES: 1. See, for example, Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae Eros nos. 879 and 974; and LIMC Eros/Amor, Cupido nos. 343 and 364. 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), M130, p. 188-89 [J. S. Crawford] Subjects and Contexts Ancient Bronzes 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
