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Announcer: This is
a Getty podcast.

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Host: Need something locked up?

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Well today’s guest can help
play a key role—because

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she’s literally a key!

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Welcome to If Objects Could
Talk, a podcast where art

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and artifacts get to leave
the museum vault and tell

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their side of the story.

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Thanks for joining us as we
bring objects into the light!

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Have you ever gotten locked out
of your house or been late to

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an event because your parents
just could not find their keys?

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Or maybe you’ve tried to keep
your diary private...only to

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walk in on one of your siblings
trying to pick the lock?

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If you’ve ever used a lock
and key, you’ve relied

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on the same tools people
have used for millennia!

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Even today, in a world that
is increasingly digital,

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we often still use small,
metal keys to keep our most

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valuable possessions safe.

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Today’s guest is an elegant
Roman key with a handle

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shaped like a horse’s head.

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And she knows the key
to any good story is a

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little bit of mystery!

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Horsehead Key: Time has a
way of swallowing up objects.

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Broken, lost, melted down.

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Not all of us
survive our pasts...

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It was a dark and stormy
day about one thousand,

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eight hundred years ago
when I was made and then

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nearly lost to history.

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But before you can understand
my tale, you must first

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know the facts of the case.

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Fact one: Fact one: I’m a key.

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I’m about

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Horsehead Key: the length of a
toothbrush, with an iron shaft

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and a handle made of bronze.

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The first thing you’ll
notice is my face.

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It’s on my handle and it's
shaped like a horse’s head.

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My mane is swept back
as if I were charging

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forward into battle

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and my ears are pinned to
the side of my head, which

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says “back off!” or “watch
out!” in horse-body-language.

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I was made by a smith using
the lost wax casting method.

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That femme fatale Bastet told me
she's already been interrogated

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and spilled the beans about
lost wax casting, so I won’t

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linger over the details.

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But my bronze horse-headed
handle is only half of me.

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There’s also my key, which
was forged from iron.

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Can you find a key right now?

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It could be a house key or
a car key, doesn’t matter.

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Got one?

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I knew you had it in you, kid.

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Alright.

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Now run one of your fingers
on the edge of the key.

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Does it feel like your
finger is running up and down

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little mountains and valleys?

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That part of the key, the
part where some edges stick

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out and some edges cut in, is
called the “bit.” My bit has

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eight slots; It almost looks
like a piece of abstract art.

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Now, if you’ve got the
chance, try something for me.

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Try putting that key of
yours into the wrong lock.

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Huh.

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Yup.

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May not even fit.

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Or maybe it just barely
fits, but you can’t turn it.

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Inside that lock, there are flat
parts called levers and wards.

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A key’s bit is made to
fit inside of a lock,

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where those mountains can
push the levers while the

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valleys avoid the wards.

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Get the right bit
into the right fit?

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The levers will lift,
which will turn the bolt

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in the lock, opening it.

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And jiminy cricket.

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You’re home free!

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Keys can do all kinds of things.

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Keep people out.

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Keep belongings secure.

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Used to be, if you wanted
something like that done,

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you’d have to hire some
muscle to protect your pieces.

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But locks changed all that.

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Now you didn’t need a person
to protect your fine jewels,

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your secret stashes of gold,
or those cool, little, fruit

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shaped erasers you don’t want
your baby sister to swallow.

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You just needed a
lock, box, and key.

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My type of lock, the lever lock,
was invented in the Near East

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about four thousand years ago.

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The Romans took that technology
and made more complex versions.

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And they didn’t just make
keys that were useful.

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They made keys that
were beautiful.

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The Romans liked to decorate
their keys and they especially

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liked to decorate with animals.

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Lions, panthers, bears,
and of course, horses,

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were frequently featured.

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Some keys were even
decorated with pets.

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One of my good friends
at the Getty is a key

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with a dog-shaped handle.

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He’s a very good boy with
fuzzy hair engraved into

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his metal form, looking up
into the eyes of his owner.

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Cute, huh?

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Gives you a lot to think about.

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What kind of animal would
you use to decorate your key?

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A dangerous one?

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A friendly one?

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Maybe even an imaginary one?

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And what would that
choice say about you?

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Give it some thought
and get back to me.

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Like I said, there are a lot
of animals to choose from.

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But the horse—there’s something
about a horse that captures the

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human imagination like no other.

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From Paleolithic cave paintings
in France to terracotta

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figures in China, humans
love making art of horses.

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Why?

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Just think about how
important horses would be

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in a world without cars or
other modern transportation.

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Horses made managing
livestock easier.

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They meant it was possible
to carry heavier loads

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across longer distances.

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And they were
indispensable in battle.

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In the Greco-Roman world,
chariot racing was a popular

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sport, where drivers would steer
racing horses as they pulled

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carts around a grand arena.

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It became a signal
of special events.

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Horses, in turn, became
symbols of celebration,

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wealth, and power.

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And where there’s power, there’s
someone desperate to seize it.

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Which brings us to our case.

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It was a dark and stormy day.

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So stormy, in fact, that Abieta
and her little brother Septimius

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could not go outside to play.

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They were the children of a
blacksmith, and grew up living

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and playing in a smithy.

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See, in Roman times, workshops
were sometimes separate

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buildings, but they could
also be connected to the home.

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Abieta and Septimius’
father had gone for the one

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with the shorter commute.

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Maybe he was regretting that
as the children ran through

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his workshop on this rainy day.

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Trying to keep the kids in
line, their father showed

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them the project he’d been
working on: a key and lock

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box for a wealthy patron.

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You guessed it: that was me.

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Abieta marveled at my
ingenuity of the bit on the

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key and the wards on the lock.

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Septimius just
liked my horse-head.

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When the wealthy patron arrived,
their father rushed off to give

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a warm welcome, with Abieta
on his heels, curious about

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the patron who had requested
the horse-headed handle.

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The wealthy patron
was a horse breeder.

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He wanted a way to lock up
the important papers that

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detailed purchases and sales.

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But he also wanted to
show off his line of

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work at the same time.

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He looked shrewdly around
the workshop as he came in,

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inspecting the different
projects workers were pounding

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and hammering away at.

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But when Abieta’s father
went to show him the lock

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box and key, I was gone!

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That’s right...this was
the case of the missing me!

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Abieta saw the panic in her
father’s eyes and thought fast.

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She explained to the wealthy
patron that there was no use at

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all in having a lock box if the
lock could simply be picked!

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Now the patron had a
chance to see for himself

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how secure the lock was.

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He could use any of the
tools in the workshop to

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try and pick the lock.

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And when he gave up, they
would show him the key

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that could unlock the box!

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Abieta’s father looked relieved
at her ingenuity, but there

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was still one problem—they
didn’t have a clue where I was.

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Or at least...her father
didn’t have a clue.

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Abieta had the making
of a great gumshoe.

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She’d seen Septimius’ wandering
eye and knew that boy could

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make trouble out of nothing.

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She had to find him, so
that she could find me.

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She lined up the facts.

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First, Septimius would want
to be hidden, so that he could

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play with his stolen toy.

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Second, it was nearly lunchtime,
and he’d likely be hungry.

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And third, her little brother
had no fear of rain or mud.

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The kitchen garden!

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That was where he would be.

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Located right outside the
kitchen, many Roman homes had

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a private garden filled with
herbs and edible plants that

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were perfect for snacking.

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Doesn’t take a detective to
understand why it’s sometimes

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called the “herb garden.”

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Abieta rushed out into the rain.

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And there we were,
frolicking through the

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basil, thyme, and costmary.

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I mean, I was kidnapped and
held against my will, drenched

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in the cold and bitter rain.

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But Septimius, well,
Septimius was frolicking.

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Abieta snatched me from
her brother and raced

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back to the workshop.

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And not a moment too soon.

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The wealthy patron had
tired of the lock picking

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game and was satisfied with
the security of the box.

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00:11:23,609 --> 00:11:27,570
He was relieved and impressed
when Abieta revealed my

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majestic equine form to him.

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And then she slid
me into the lock.

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Bingo!

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We were back in business.

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Abieta’s father made the
sale and Septimius was put

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in time-out for his crimes.

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So here’s one last fact you
need to know about keys: we

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only work when you can find us.

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Host: I hope you enjoyed
learning about horses and keys.

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Now, this is usually where I’d
tell you who’ll be in the studio

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00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:10,160
next week—but this was the last
episode of our first season!

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If you enjoyed the series,
share it with your friends and

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00:12:14,230 --> 00:12:17,909
leave us a comment or review
on your favorite podcast app!

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00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:22,350
If you have questions or ideas
for future episodes, write

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00:12:22,350 --> 00:12:28,939
to us or send us a voice memo
at podteam at getty dot edu.

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To see photographs of the
horse key and learn more

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00:12:32,570 --> 00:12:37,260
about this episode and all our
episodes, visit our website at

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00:12:37,340 --> 00:12:40,830
Getty dot edu slash podcasts

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This episode was written
by Claire Hupy and

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produced by Zoe Goldman.

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Katie Jostock voiced the horse.

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00:12:50,170 --> 00:12:53,729
Theme music, mixing, and sound
design by Alexandra Kalinowski.

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Christopher Sprinkle
is executive producer.

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Special thanks to curators
Ken Lapatin, Judith

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Barr, and Hana Sugioka.

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Catch you next time!