Loom Weight
Description
Pear-shaped piece of pink clay, hole pierced below point or top on weight. Part of the Pfeiffer-Hartwell collection, purchased in Athens. On one side, above the bulge of maximum thickness, is an oval stamp depicting an amphora. Below the stamp, under the curve of the bulge, is an incompletely impressed oblong stamp which depicts three Greek letters: gamma, lamda, upsilon, possibly followed by fourth. The letters are sprawling but neatly made. This was presumably a weight for a loom or a net, compare Hesperia XVIII.4 (1949) pl. 101 no.126 of the late fifth century. (HSCP vol. 72, 1968)
Dimensions
8.34 x 5.02 cm (3 5/16 x 2 in.)
Provenance
Purchased at Athens. Gift of George Pfeiffer to the Department of the Classics, 1905. Transfer from the Department of the Classics, 1977.
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