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Copper alloy chisel

ca. 2700–2400/2300 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 151
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
The chisel is rectangular in form with tapering ends. There is a blade at one end with a rounded edge. The tool was likely solid cast in one piece from a mold and then the blade was hammered to its final shape. It has a dark brown patina with mottled green corrosion over much of the surface. There are several dents to the tapering rectangular edge towards the blade. The size of the chisel is impressive for the Early Bronze Age Cyclades.(1) Since it lacks an archaeological context, and the type has a long history, it could well date later in the Bronze Age.

Seán Hemingway




(1) A slightly smaller but comparable example, which is dated to the Early Cycladic II period but also lacks an archaeological context, exists in the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, inv. no. NG0224. See Museum of Cycladic Art: Highlights (Athens 2023), pp. 112-113, no. 52. On Cycladic Early Bronze Age metalwork, see K. Branigan, Aegean Metalwork of the Early and Middle Bronze Age (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974), pp. 24-26, pls. 14-15.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Copper alloy chisel
  • Period: Early Cycladic II
  • Date: ca. 2700–2400/2300 BCE
  • Culture: Cycladic
  • Medium: Copper alloy
  • Dimensions: Height: 1 5/16 in. (3.4 cm)
    Width: 1 5/16 in. (3.4 cm)
    Length: 9 5/16 in. (23.7 cm)
    Thickness: 15/16 in. (2.4 cm)
    Weight: 38.44 oz. (1090 g)
  • Classification: Bronzes
  • Credit Line: Leonard N. Stern Collection, Loan from the Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Culture
  • Object Number: L.2022.38.100
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art