Canteen or Balsamarium (50–250 CE): Art, History and Details

Canteen or Balsamarium (50–250 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the 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.

Object facts

• Title: Canteen or Balsamarium
• Date: 50–250 CE
• Culture: Roman
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: Bronze, cast
• Dimensions: height: 17.8 cm (7 in.)
• Collection: GR - Roman
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 2023.105

A detail from the museum

The goat heads on the shoulder of this vessel each have inlaid silver eyes.

Collection credit

Gift of Barbara S. Robinson and Family

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.