id:			130217
accession number:	1952.586
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.586
updated:		2022-06-11 09:00:44.049000

Key, AD 1-100. Italy, Roman, 1st Century. Iron tang, bronze handle; overall: 15.6 cm (6 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1952.586

title:				Key
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			AD 1-100
creation date earliest:		1
creation date latest:		100
current location:		103 Roman
creditline:			John L. Severance Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Italy, Roman, 1st Century
technique:	iron tang, bronze handle
department:	Greek and Roman Art
collection:	GR - Roman
type:		Metalwork
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 15.6 cm (6 1/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), New York, NY
	date: By 1913
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Junius Spencer Morgan II (1867-1932), New York, NY
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Dr. Vladimir G. Simkhovitch (1874-1959), New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1952
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1952-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
The bronze handle of this key combines three heads: of a boar, Mercury, and Silvanus.

digital description: 
Cleverly designed with an iron bit attached to a bronze handle, this key can be admired from all angles. While the handle terminates in the head of a ferocious boar, farther down are back-to-back heads of Mercury—his wings formed from the ears of the boar—and his goat-legged, horned son, Silvanus (also known as Pan). Given the rustic nature of the heads, scholars have suggested that the key might once have unlocked a country villa.

wall description: 

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Kozloff, Arielle P. "Keys of Ancient Rome." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 80, no. 9 (1993).
	page number: 	pp. 368-75
	url:		http://www.jstor.org/stable/25161430

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.586/1952.586_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.586/1952.586_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.586/1952.586_full.tif