XII.—DOMESTIC ARTS. (Table-Case G.)

Spinning and Weaving.—(a) Preparation of yarn.—The process of spinning is clearly seen in the accompanying drawings from Greek vases of the fourth and fifth centuries exhibited in this Case (Nos. 421-2; figs. 171-2). In each, a woman is holding up in her left hand the distaff, a rod which is thrust through a bunch of unspun wool. With the fingers of her right hand she is twisting fibres drawn from the wool. The yarn is attached below to the top of the spindle, a rod of wood or metal with a disc (whorl) near the bottom to assist the rotation. When some quantity of yarn had been twisted it was wound round the body of the spindle and hitched into a hook at its upper end (see figs. 171, 173), to prevent it from unwinding. The twisting process was then recommenced. An impressive description of the ancient spindle is given by Plato in the vision of Er at the end of the Republic,⁴⁴ where he likens the axis of the universe to the shaft of a spindle suspended by a hook of adamant, and the revolving starry heavens to a whorl made up of eight concentric rims, fitting one into the other like boxes.

Two bronze spindles (No. 423) are seen in the Case and are illustrated on either side of fig. 173. In the same figure are shown four ivory whorls from spindles (No. 424).

Before the wool was placed upon the distaff it appears to have been rubbed, with a view to the separation of the fibres, upon an instrument known as the epinetron or onos. This was semi-cylindrical in form and was placed upon the knee. Several examples in terracotta had long been known, and were explained with little plausibility as covering-tiles. One, however, was found with a painted design which first gave the clue to its real use (Fig. 174). One of these epinetra B 96 (No. 425) is exhibited in this Case, together with a fragment of a second. Other examples are to be seen in the Second Vase Room (Cases 24 and 25), and one of these is illustrated here (No. 426; fig. 175). A miniature example was found with the girl doll seated in a chair, exhibited in Table-Case J with the other dolls (p. 195, fig. 234, below).

(b) The Loom.—The only kind of loom in use in Greek and Roman times was probably the upright loom. A good idea of its form is obtained from the illustration (fig. 176), taken from a Greek vase-painting ⁴⁵ of the fifth century B.C., representing Penelope seated beside the loom, with one of the suitors or Telemachos before her. The primary part of the loom is the wooden frame (jugum) resembling two posts with a cross-bar. Near the top is a roller, about which the threads of the warp and the finished cloth are wound. The threads of the warp hang downwards, strained by weights attached to their ends. The row of nine rods fitted into sockets in the top framework is probably for holding the balls of different coloured wool used in the weaving. Coloured patterns are woven towards each selvedge of the fabric. The band of winged figures must be regarded as a piece of embroidery. (For tapestry weaving see below.) The two horizontal rods lower down are the canons, which effect the alternation of the threads of the warp. It may be noted that the threads are alternately long and short at the lower end, so that the canon would be inserted correctly with great ease. The loom weights, which hang at the bottom, closely resemble in form the sets (No. 427) of pyramidal terracotta and lead weights in this Case. The terracotta discs (figs. 173 and 177), which are pierced with two holes and sometimes have a stamped design, are also probably loom-weights. No. 428 (fig. 177) has a design of two dolphins plunging into the sea; No. 429 (fig. 173) is stamped with a name—Kleodamos. As a loom weight was needed for every thread of a warp, it is not surprising that they are found in great numbers. Possibly the small bronze object (No. 430) seen at the bottom of fig. 173 may be an ancient shuttle, for passing the thread of the woof to and fro in a horizontal direction, alternately before and behind the threads of the warp. Afterwards they were driven close together by the batten (σπάθη), a possible example of which is the toothed bone object seen in this Case (No. 431).

Various specimens of ancient cloth are shown here. A piece from the Crimea (No. 432), with pretty geometric patterns in black on a light ground, and a large fragment from an Egyptian tomb (No. 433), inscribed in paint "Diogenes, who was a patcher in his lifetime,"⁴⁶ may be specially mentioned.

The art of tapestry weaving was highly developed during the later Roman Empire, especially in Egypt. See a fragment from Antinoe, fourth to fifth centuries A.D. (No. 434). The art of embroidery, that is, of working with a needle on an already woven fabric, was practised from very early times. See the small vase with a woman seated working on a four-sided embroidery frame, supported on her lap (No. 435).

The objects illustrating ancient sewing, etc., speak pretty well for themselves. Such are the bronze thimble (No. 436; fig. 178), the iron scissors (No. 437; fig. 179), and the series of pins, needles, bodkins, netting needles, etc. (figs. 180, 181). The needles and pins are arranged in the Case according to their supposed order of development, starting from the thorn or bone fragment with a hole pierced in it. The Roman bronze needle-case from France (No. 438; fig. 182) is worthy of note. Similar cases were used by Roman surgeons for their instruments.

Cutlery.—At the east end of Table-Case G will be seen a series of Greek and Roman knives, ranging from the long Mycenaean hunting knife from Ialysos in Rhodes (No. 438) to the numerous Roman pocket-knives with bronze handles, frequently in the form of animals (No. 439). The iron blade has often rusted away, as will be seen from the illustration (fig. 183), which gives a selection of these knives. (a) represents a handle in the form of a panther catching a deer, (b) one in the form of a ram's head, with a leg projecting below to assist the grip, (e) a hound catching a hare. The iron blades are still preserved in the case of (c) and (d). The first, from Nîmes, has a bronze handle ending in a woman's head; (d) has a handle of the same material in the form of a hound catching a hare.

For two reliefs of a cutler's forge and a cutler's shop, see below, pages 156, 157.

Locks and Keys.—The earliest and simplest form of door fastening used by the Greeks seems to have consisted of a bar of wood set behind the door, and made to slide into a hole or staple in the sidepost. An advance on this arrangement was soon made, when the bar was pulled to by a strap from the outside, and could be opened again from the outside by means of a key passed through a hole in the door, and adapted to lift up the pegs which held the bar fast in position. This is the type of lock mentioned in the Odyssey,⁴⁷ where Penelope releases the strap from the hook to which it was fastened, puts in the key, and lifts the pegs, "striking them fairly." The key for such a lock will probably have resembled No. 440, marked a in fig. 186 below, the working of which is shown in the sketch (fig. 184).⁴⁸ It was passed narrow-wise through the central slot, then turned, and drawn back so as to lift up the pegs fitted in grooves in the side slots. The bar below would thus be freed and could be drawn to and fro by the strap. This type of lock is still sometimes used in the East.⁴⁹

The majority of Roman locks, though of a more complicated structure, are made on the same principle, as may be seen from the ancient lock No. 441 (probably from Pompeii) here exhibited, together with model lock of the same type (No. 442) and a diagram showing its original arrangement (fig. 185a-d). Here the bolt has been shot through the end link of a chain, part of which remains (fig. 185c). It is secured by pins, the ends of which fit into a series of perforations in the bolt and are kept down by a spring. The bolt was released by a key fitted with teeth corresponding to the perforations (fig. 185d). The key lifted the pins out of the holes and took their place. The bolt was then drawn aside, as the key was moved along the horizontal slot. On account of the double movement, first vertical and then horizontal, the keyhole is in the shape ┌. Several bolts, keys (e.g. No. 442; fig. 186c), and door plates for locks of this type are exhibited in this Case. Three keys from Syria are shown (No. 443) fitted into the wards of the actual bolts for which they were made. Notice the projections on the ring of key c, which were used for shooting a supplementary bolt, a common device in Roman locks.

The modern type of lock, in which the key works on a pivot and moves the bolt backwards and forwards by a rotatory movement, after passing through a series of wards, was also known to the Romans. This is proved by the existence of several Roman keys solely adapted to a lock of this character (e.g., No. 444; fig. 186d). Such keys are frequently found combined with finger-rings, a convenient method of lessening the danger of loss. We may conclude that this type of key was a favourite one for use with small padlocks.

Padlocks of Roman date are common. In this Case three of a barrel form are shown. One (No. 445; fig. 187) has the key still rusted in it. The padlock has traces of a chain attachment at one end, and was probably kept hanging to a doorpost, while the bolt was shot into the end link of a chain attached to the door. Two other Roman padlocks illustrated (fig. 188) are more ornamental in character. One (No. 446) is in the form of a circular box with hinged handle, the free end of which was fastened by pin-bolts within the box. There is also a secret catch underneath. The other padlock (No. 447) is furnished with a chain attached to one side of it. The last link of the free end was fastened inside the box, the lid of which was closed with a secret catch. The head on the cover is that of a Sphinx, a hint that the riddle of opening was not easy to solve. A hole in the floor of the box makes it probable that it was fastened to the object to be secured.

Other objects deserving mention are the keys for raising latches (No. 448; fig. 186b), and the combined ward and pin keys (No. 449; fig. 186e), and also the very interesting Graeco-Roman bronze strong-box from Tarentum (No. 450; fig. 189). The box (a) has a sliding lid (b), originally furnished on the inside with four separate fastenings. Two are horizontal bolts shot home by turning toothed discs from the outside; the third is the catch seen at the end, which was held fast in the slot by a pin-bolt (c). This bolt was moved by a disc on the outside of the cover, and was itself locked by the turning of another disc behind it; it could only be drawn back when the slot in that disc was brought into line with the bolt, as indicated in design d of the figure. The small catch on the right at the end of the box fell into position automatically when the cover was closed, and could only be unfastened by turning the box on its side. The outside of the lid shows four similar circles, over which were the revolving or sliding discs now lost (fig. 190).

Seals.—These were closely connected with locks in ancient life, and often in fact took their place. Aristophanes makes the women complain that not only did their husbands carry the patent Laconian key, but that they also (at the instigation of Euripides) carried very complicated "worm-eaten" seals,⁵⁰ not likely to be forged. Several objects in this Case illustrate the use of seals. When a man wished to secure an object he tied it up with string and put a lump of clay over the knot, impressing the clay with his signet. Such impressions are seen on several baked lumps of clay here exhibited. One large lump (No. 451) has no fewer than eight Roman seal impressions (several from the same seal), while the knot of the cord remains embedded in the clay underneath. This Case also contains examples (No. 452) of Roman seal-locks (one in wood and several in ivory). The wooden lock, found in Egypt, is shown in fig. 191a, where its probable use is indicated. The lock was suspended from the door-jamb on a pivot passed through the small hole seen at the left end. The loop or staple attached to the door was then inserted in the groove, and the movable cover slid through it, as shown in the figure. The clay or wax was next pressed into the hole behind the lid, and sealed with a signet (as in fig. 191b, top view). The door could then not be opened unless the seal or the lock was broken. Such a lock would be very useful to prevent the often-mentioned pilfering by slaves.⁵¹ Another interesting class of objects is that of the seal-boxes (No. 453). They are small bronze boxes with hinged lids, and resemble in form a pear-shaped or circular lamp. Each box has a small slot cut out on either side, and three or four holes pierced in its floor. The cover not infrequently has a design in relief (such as might be impressed from a seal), e.g., a frog (fig. 191d). The illustration (fig. 191e) shows a suggested method of using them. The box is fastened by studs (passed through the holes in its floor) to the lid of the object to be secured. The string is inserted in a staple on the front of it and tied in a knot, which is placed in the seal-box and held fast by wax stamped with a seal. The projecting stud-heads would assist the natural tenacity of the wax, so that it would be impossible to remove the string without breaking the seal. Other arrangements are, of course, possible. For instance, the staple might not be used, and string might instead be tied round the object to be secured. The ends would be brought into the seal-box by two of the holes, there be secured by the sealed knot, and would leave it by two other holes.

Another form of seal was that consisting of two lead discs connected by a loop (No. 454). The discs were pressed together and stamped on the outer surfaces with a design (as in fig. 191c). In this way the loop was securely attached to the object to be protected. Probably these seals were attached to merchandise by manufacturers or customs officials, just in the same way as lead seals are used in our own time. Their use appears to have been confined almost, if not entirely, to Sicily.

A variety of labels in lead, bronze, and ivory is shown in this Case. They generally have a hole for attachment, and bear the name and initials of their owner. The bronze label (No. 455), to which a portion of the iron object to which it was attached still adheres, has the name of the owner, C. Junius Hermetus, inscribed upon it. A second label has the name of another member of the family, Decius Junius Hermetus (No. 456).

Seals were applied by the use of signet rings of gold, silver, or bronze with the impression of the seal cut in the metal or on a gem set in the bezel (see p. 136). The engraved ring was usually employed for purely personal purposes, such as the sealing of a letter or document, and the device of the seal was more or less ornamental. For the somewhat allied group of bronze tablets, used for marking objects, rather than securing them, see p. 192.

αὐτίκ' ἄρ' ἥ γ' ἱμάντα θοῶς ἀπέλυσε κορώνης,

ἐν δὲ κληῖδ' ἧκε, θυρέων δ' ἀνέκοπτεν ὀχῆας,

ἄντα τιτυσκομένη.

48: After Jacobi, Das Römerkastell Saalburg, p. 469, fig. 74, 1, 2 (modified).

51: Cf. Plin., H.N. xxxiii. 26: nunc cibi quoque ac potus anulo vindicantur a rapina.