Pulley
Unknown Artist
3rd–5th century
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
Overall: 3 7/8 x 2 5/16 x 1 5/16 in. (9.9 x 5.9 x 3.3 cm)
Classification
Woodwork-Miscellany
Culture
Coptic
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.2.41
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of's Medieval Art collection, where we encounter the humble yet ingenious "Pulley," crafted by an unknown Coptic artist between the 3rd and 5th centuries CE. This small wooden artifact, measuring just 37/8 x 2 5/16 x 1 5/16 inches, exemplifies everyday woodwork from early Christian Egypt. Carved from wood—a perishable medium rarely preserved—its compact,-like form with a gro rim reveals precise lathe-turning techniques, essential for a functional tool used in lifting or hauling. In Coptic culture, which flourished as Christianity took root in Roman Egypt, su...