AMICA ID:
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MMA_.1980.416ab
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AMICA Library Year:
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2002
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Object Type:
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Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
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Description:
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This Byzantine steelyard weight dates from the first half of the fifth century. The bronze hook would allow it to be suspended from and moved along a ruled steelyard to measure the weight of a product hung from the opposite end. Empress busts such as this, though usually not so fine, were often used as weights; this one has been filled with lead and driven with several nails to make it weigh exactly seven Byzantine litrae, or 5.04 pounds in modern terms. Despite the careful modeling of the face and the realistically elaborate clothing and hairstyle, this portrait is too generalized to identify more closely than as a member of the ruling Theodosian dynasty. This is not surprising, as dynastic characteristics are usually emphasized more than individual details in such pieces. |
Creator Nationality:
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Asian; Anatolian; Byzantine
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Creator Name-CRT:
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Byzantine
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Title:
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Steelyard Weight and Hook
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View:
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Principal view
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Creation Date:
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first half of 5th century
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Creation Start Date:
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400
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Creation End Date:
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450
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Materials and Techniques:
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Copper alloy filled with lead, brass hook
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Dimensions:
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9 1/4 x 4 5/16 in. (23.5 x 11 cm)
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Owner Location:
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New York, New York
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ID Number:
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1980.416 ab
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Credit Line:
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Purchase, Rogers Fund, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, by exchange and Gifts of George Blumenthal, J. P. Morgan, Mrs. Lucy W. Drexel and Mrs. Robert J. Levy, by exchange, 1980
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Copyright:
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Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art . All rights reserved.
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Rights:
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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MMA_.h1_1980.416ab.tif
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