Pyramidal loom weight

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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: 9.3 cm high, 6 cm wide, 6.5 cm deep, 438 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 a coarse-ware type fabric and is orangey-beige in colour; dark patches on the surface may be evidence of a possible dilute brown/black slip; there is an oval and a circular depression side-by-side near the base. It is possible that these impressions are fingermarks, made accidentally by the creator before firing. There is also a circular crater on another side, which is difficult to qualify as deliberate or accidental.

Identifier

Repository Accession Number: 2014.5.31
Record: UO-MCA-2014-5-31

Source

Cataloguer: Eryn Ford, University of Ottawa
Photographer: Mélissa Mourez, University of Ottawa
Image Date: 2018-07-12

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