The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Key

Key

1–100 CE
iron tang, bronze handle
Overall: 15.6 cm (6 1/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1952.586
Location: 103 Roman

Did You Know?

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

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.
  • By 1913
    J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), New York, NY
    Junius Spencer Morgan II (1867-1932), New York, NY
    ?-1952
    Dr. Vladimir G. Simkhovitch (1874-1959), New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1952-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Kozloff, Arielle P. "Keys of Ancient Rome." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 9 (1993). pp. 368-75 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=Key|url=false|author=|year=1–100 CE|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.586