Title
Pyramidal loom weight
Date
6th-4th century BCE
Creator
Unknown
South Italian, Peucetian
Coverage
Style/Period: South Italian, Peucetian
Discovery Site: Discovered in Eastern Apulia (Puglia), Bari province, Italy
Repository: Museum of Classical Antiquities, University of Ottawa / Musée d'antiquités gréco-romaines, Université d'Ottawa
Collection: Donati Collection
Type
tools, equipment and materials
Format
Materials/Techniques: terracotta (clay material)
Measurements: 8.5 cm high, 5 cm wide, 4.5 cm deep, 170 g
Description
Loom weights are used to keep the warp (vertical) threads of the warp-weighted loom pulled tight and in place during weaving. Pyramidal loom weights are by far the most common type found in Italy in the first millennium BCE. This loom weight should be dated to the Archaic or Classical period on the basis of comparison to other loom weights from dated contexts, including loom weights in dated tomb assemblages in eastern Apulia, where this loom weight was found. In Italy most loom weights were made of fired clay, in coarse or fine fabric.This loom weight is made of coarse-ware type fabric with numerous small and medium-sized gray and white inclusions; it is light brown in colour, with traces of a light, whitish slip on the surface. On one side there is a leaf-shaped stamp, and on the other side a square stamp. The stamped ornament occurs on the sides without the thread holes.
Identifier
Repository Accession Number: 2014.5.34
Record: UO-MCA-2014-5-34
Source
Cataloguer: Christine Tomlinson, University of Ottawa
Photographer: Mélissa Mourez, University of Ottawa
Image Date: 2018-07-18
Rights
The images are provided by the Museum of Classical Antiquities, University of Ottawa. For contact information, visit the Museum website: https://arts.uottawa.ca/cla-srs/en/museum | Les images sont fournies par le Musée d'antiquités gréco-romaines de l'Université d’Ottawa. Visitez le site du musée pour les coordonnées : https://arts.uottawa.ca/cla-srs/fr/musee