Roller
This bronze openwork piece comprises a roller on a pin and a square frame that takes the appearance of two outstretched arms with bracelets at the wrists. Although the exact function of this object is unknown, the rotating roller suggests that a cord, strap, or other piece of fabric would have been fed through the opening. Objects like this roller may have been used as horse trappings, belt buckles, furniture elements, and implements used in the production of textiles.
Artwork Details
- Title: Roller
- Period: Old Babylonian
- Date: ca. 18th century BCE
- Geography: Mesopotamia
- Culture: Babylonian
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: 2.6 in. (6.6 cm)
- Credit Line: Purchase, Norbert Schimmel and Schimmel Foundation Inc. Gifts and Rogers Fund, 1980
- Object Number: 1980.407.3
- Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art
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