1920.44.17.A-B: Dagger Blade
Tools and EquipmentIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1920.44.17.A-B
- Title
- Dagger Blade
- Classification
- Tools and Equipment
- Work Type
- dagger
- Date
- 8th-2nd century BCE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
- Period
- Geometric period to Classical
- Culture
- Greek
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/303656
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Copper alloy
- Technique
- Cast, lost-wax process
- Dimensions
- 12 cm (4 3/4 in.)
- Technical Details
-
Technical Observations: The patina is very heavily corroded with a cracked and splitting surface, exposing layers of green and red corrosion. The object is completely mineralized, as can be seen in the cross section, leaving the knife blade with little or no metal preserved and therefore quite brittle. The tang is broken off and missing. The blade was probably made by casting and hot working. Two rivets used for attachment to a handle are preserved in the corrosion products.
Carol Snow (submitted 2002)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
-
Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1920.
Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton
- Accession Year
- 1920
- Object Number
- 1920.44.17.A-B
- 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 heavily corroded blade is broken into two pieces, the smaller comprising the tip and part of the blade and the larger comprising the rest of the blade and part of the tang. Longitudinal and lateral cracks in the metal run the length of the object. With a semi-rectangular tang on one end, which appears to have been broken, the knife tapers gently into a broad rounded tip at the opposite end. The holes for two rivets are apparent at the shoulder of the blade near the tang, most likely for securing a handle made from another material.
David Smart
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