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Canteen or Balsamarium
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A utilitarian container, this nearly spherical cast bronze vessel survives in surprisingly good condition. Two goat heads on the shoulder, each with inlaid silver eyes, serve as decorative attachments, holding two hand-wrought linked chains – a shorter one to secure the stopper and a longer one for hanging or carrying the vessel. The round body of the vessel is nicely complemented by a decorative program of shallowly incised bands and concentric circles.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineCanteen or Balsamarium, 50–250 CE. Roman. Bronze, cast; height: 17.8 cm (7 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Barbara S. Robinson and Family, 2023.105
