The Farid Karam Antiquities Collection at USF by Institute for Digital Exploration (USF IDEx) on Sketchfab
The Farid Karam, M.D. Lebanon Antiquities Collection consists of 149 objects, including jars, goblets, bottles, oil lamps, unguentariums, and busts/figures, donated to the USF Libraries Special Collections in 1998 by Dr. Farid Karam and his wife Jehanne. Most of the items were acquired by Dr. Karam in Lebanon, originate in Roman Syria, a wealthy province on the Eastern Mediterranean, and date from the 1st through the 4th centuries AD.
In Fall 2016 Dr Davide Tanasi and his students at USF's Center for Virtualization and Applied Spatial Technologies (CVAST) 3D scanned all 149 Karam objects using CVAST's FaroArm, a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). Final processing and creation of the 3D models was completed by Dr. Tanasi at the Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx) at the University of South Florida Department of History. The project process and history was captured in the article "Virtual Karam Collection: 3D Digital Imaging and 3D Printing for Public Outreach in Archaeology" by Tanasi, Hassam, and Kingsland.
-
Needle
Unknown
The greenish-brown metal object has a sharp end, an eye forged at the midsection and a rounded end. The object maintains a round cross-section throughout. The shaft bulges on either side of the eye, which is clear of debris. The object has 30 bands inscribed from the blunt end to 0.5 cm. below the eye.
-
Oil lamp
Unknown
Molded lamp has a handle rising from the back of the body at a 75 degree angle. The nozzle extends to the side opposite the handle. The handle is 3 cm. wide and 1.5 cm. deep, decorated on the inside face with a cross. The fill hole and nozzle are outlined by a ridge. A zigzag pattern surrounds the fill hole; a row of dots surrounds the fill hole below the ridge. The base was formed by trimming the body away to create a ridge. The lamp bears traces of a red wash which is largely worn off.
-
Oil lamp
Unknown
Molded lamp has a tongue handle that rises at a 45 degree angle from the back of the lamp. The handle is 2.5 cm. wide and 1.6 cm. thick, decorated with five vertical inscribed lines on the inside face of the handle. There is no other surface decoration. A band runs along the outer edge of the handle and traces the perimeter of the lamp. A ridge defines the upper edge of the lamp, surrounding both the fill hole and the nozzle. The base is a circular ridge, heavily worn on this object. Black discoloration at the nozzle indicates use.
-
Oil lamp
Unknown
Molded lamp has a circular body from which the nozzle extends on the side away from the handle. The high handle is a conical projection rising from the upper surface of the lamp at a right angle to the base. The upper surface is decorated with raised chevrons and circles. The bottom rests on a raised circle with a potter's mark inside: M over Alpha? A piece of the fill hole rim and upper body toward the nozzle are broken away. The nozzle is blocked by debris. Discoloration on the nozzle indicates use.
-
Oil lamp
Unknown
Lamp is decorated with raised tracings of leaves, grapes, flowers and birds. Base is a ridge in a teardrop shape, which replicates the shape of the perimeter of the lamp itself. Handle rises from the back of the lamp in a C-shape, curving toward the fill hole. A trough defined by the rim of the fill hole and a ridge drains to the nozzle.
-
Oil lamp
Unknown
The body of the lamp is shaped like a lentil, with a slight point in front of the nozzle and a circular handle that rises from the opposite side. The handle attaches to the ridge that forms a collar above the fill hole. The handle was attached after the body was thrown. There is no surface decoration. The base is a shallow platform that extends below the body of the lamp, having been carved out of the vessel. Black discoloration on the nozzle indicates that this lamp was used. The nozzle and the handle are not aligned.
-
Oil lamp
Unknown
Keyhole-shaped lamp is embellished on either side of the spout with scrolling that arches away to create a fleur-de-lis shape for the spout. Leaf-shaped handle supports one of the three hanging chains. The other two attach to the forward part of the lamp along the upper edges between the fill hole and the spout. The three chains meet above the fill hole; a single length of chain extends to hang the entire object. The chain is made of links in which two circles are turned at 90 degrees from each other. The base is formed by a circle of metal located under the well. The object is free-standing.
-
Oil lamp
Unknown
Teardrop-shaped lamp has a high conical handle rising from the upper surface of the lamp on the side opposite from the nozzle. The nozzle is formed at the point. The fill hole is surrounded by a double ridge that leads to the nozzle. The upper surface of the nozzle is broken away. Raised bars decorate the upper surface between the perimeter of the lamp and the outmost ridge around the fill hole. The design is sometimes referred to as bilanciolate. The base is an oval ridge. Black discoloration at the nozzle indicates use.
-
Oil lamp
Unknown
Lamp is decorated with four animals whose features cannot be distinguished. The foot is a circular ridge with eight arms radiating from the center. The handle rises from the surface of the top of the lamp in a conical form. A trough surrounds the fill hole and leads to the nozzle, which is encompassed in the body of the teardrop-shaped lamp. Discoloration at the nozzle indicates use.
-
Oil lamp
Unknown
Lamp is decorated with a band of ridges radiating away from the fill hole. A bearded face embellishes the upper surface of the nozzle. Base is a central dot surrounded by three graduated rings. The knife-trimmed handle rises in a semicircular shape from the body of the lamp and opposite the nozzle. Dark residue at the nozzle indicates use.
-
Oinochoe
Unknown
Heavy pitcher has two inscribed bands at the shoulder and three at the neck. Handle has a ridge along the outside. The handle terminates at the top in a thumb-piece and a crescent-shaped attachment that fits the uneven rim of the pitcher. The bottom of the handle terminates on a number of solder patches. The mouth is round. The base is out-of-round and slightly indented. The body has several dents.
-
Ointment jar
Unknown
Squat globular body supports a wide neck that is topped by an in-folded, tabular rim. Six pinch marks decorate the perimeter of the jar. The bottom is sharply concave with a high conical protrusion toward the interior and a pontil mark.
-
Ointment jar
Unknown
Miniature jar has a flared mouth and evenly in-folded rim. Below the rim, the sides slope gently outward to meet the base, which is concave.
-
Perfume bottle
Unknown
The two-vial unit, joined along one wall, is carved from one piece of alabaster. The holes are drilled for the cavity of the vials and through the handles on either side. The drilled holes are off-center in one vial and in both handles. The walls of the vessel are translucent.
-
Pilgrim bottle
Unknown
The body of the bottle is flat front-to-back. Rim is round but sharp and jagged, as if recently broken. Neck is cylindrical for 8 cm., after which it flattens as it expands into the round and flattened body. There is no palpable pontil mark. The bottle cannot stand. The neck has many long bubbles and some diagonal cracks.
-
Pilgrim bottle
Unknown
The body is flat front-to-back. Rim is rounded but broken, as if recently broken. Neck is cylindrical for 6.5 cm., after which it flattens to join the body section. There is no palpable pontil mark. The bottle cannot stand freely. The neck has some long bubbles and diagonal cracks.
-
Pilgrim bottle
Unknown
The bottle was flattened on both sides after blowing. The sides are slightly concave and the rim has been cracked off. The cylindrical neck narrows slightly just before meeting the round body. The bottle has no base or pontil mark; it cannot stand.
-
Pitcher
Unknown
The vessel has a broad, cylindrical neck with a simple rim. The neck descends into the body, forming a trough around the neck. The spout is attached to the body and points downward at a 20 degree angle. A groove extends along the topside of the spout. The tip of the spout appears to be broken off. The handle is formed by a bundle of five glass rods which are twisted. One of the rods is blue glass. Thumb-piece attaches along the rim; handle forms a right angle and descends to reattach along the shoulder and body, terminating in a scroll of glass. The base is concave with a sharp pontil mark.
-
Probe
Unknown
Long, slender object tapers from a rounded head at the thick end to a narrow rounded point. The shaft is pierced by a bore beginning 3.4 cm. below the rounded head. Heavy corrosion obscures the metal and creates a rough, lumpy surface.
-
Probe
Unknown
Solid metal item with a domed head and flange tapers along the shaft to a rounded point. A bore pierces the shaft at 7.5 cm. below the domed head. The shaft is closed with corrosion.
-
Probe
Unknown
Long slender solid metal object has a flat head. The shaft tapers along the length of the object to terminate in a rounded point. An eye pierces the shaft 2.5 cm. below the flat head end. The eye is not reinforced and the shaft is not distorted on either side of the hole.
-
Probe
Unknown
Long, slender, solid object tapers from a rounded flat head to the tip. Tip has been broken away. The top of the bore pierces the shaft 10.7 cm. below the head. A molded collar supports the outside of shaft to the left and the right sides of the bore. The bore is clean and clear of debris.
-
Probe
Unknown
Long, slender object tapers from a nail head to a small tip. The small tip may be broken. The object is bent several times along the shaft. A bore pierces the shaft starting 8 cm. below the nail head. The bore is reinforced on either side of the hole by a collar. The bore is clear of debris.
-
Pyxis
Unknown
Thin-walled, globular pot has two delicate handles that attach at the rim and at the low shoulder. Lid is missing. Base is a shallow disk trimmed from the object itself. A narrow band is inscribed on the rim below the upper point where the handles meet the rim of the vessel. Another narrow band is inscribed in the body at the lower attachment site for the handle. A small chip in the body creates a hole of 0.15 cm. Traces of the original brick red wash can still be detected.
-
Rectangular bottle
Unknown
Rectangular body is decorated on three sides with a plant motif in which a central stalk supports fourteen berries arrayed along either side of the stalk. The back side is flat and undecorated. A cylindrical neck rises from the square shoulders and supports a rim which is finished by rolling the edge to the inside. A broad, flat handle attaches to the rim at the undecorated back side and falls at a right angle to reattach just below the shoulder. The pontil mark is evident at the indentation at the base. The bottle is free-standing.
