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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.44
Title
Stylus
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
stylus
Date
1st-4th century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/178389

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3620, University Study Gallery
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
8.7 x 0.5 x 0.3 cm (3 7/16 x 3/16 x 1/8 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina is green with spots of red with brown burial accretions. Corrosion and some surface loss obscure the exact character of the incised lines.

The stylus was probably cast from a directly formed wax model. The spatula end is quite smooth, tapering to a fine edge, and may have been hammered or otherwise cold worked. The imperfect condition of the preserved incised lines makes it difficult to be certain, but they are soft in shape and were probably made in the wax model. The faceted middle section could have either been hammered in the metal or pressed in the wax model.


Henry Lie (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 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
2012.1.44
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The shaft of this stylus is circular in section and carries elaborate decoration. The shaft can be subdivided into several distinct zones: six carry rows of diagonal lines, and two larger sections in the middle have flattened sides, perhaps to provide a better grip. The flattened “eraser” end is wedge-shaped, while the other end comes to a sharp point (1).

A stylus of this type would have been used to write on a Roman tablet; tablets were made of wood with a wax-covered surface. The wax surface made the tablet reusable, and the flat end of the stylus could be used to rub out the text. Styli have been found with sets of medical instruments and were sometimes used by ancient doctors, for instance, to extract teeth (2).

NOTES:

1. Compare R. Jackson and S. La Niece, “A Set of Roman Medical Instruments from Italy,” Britannia 17 (1986): 119-67, esp. 127-28, no. 26, fig. 3.

2. J. S. Milne, Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times (Oxford, 1907) 72-73; and D. Michaelides, “A Roman Surgeon’s Tomb from Nea Paphos,” Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus, 1984: 315-32, esp. 326.


Lisa M. Anderson and David Smart

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), M149, p. 197-98 [J. S. Crawford]

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/17/2017 - 05/08/2017; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/22/2022 - 05/08/2022; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/28/2023 - 05/07/2023; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/20/2024 - 05/05/2024

Subjects and Contexts

  • Roman Domestic Art
  • 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