Crab from "Cleopatra's Needle"
A corroded bronze crab lies on a granite plinth, seen in side profile against a dark background. Its claws and shell are worn, with pitted, greenish surfaces and rough patches where the metal has eroded. The sculpture is long and low, with the jointed legs and carapace reduced to heavy, soft forms.
Look closer: Shallow pitting and eroded surface marks cover the shell, showing the bronze's age.
- Artist
- Unknown
- Date
- 13 BCE
- Medium
- Bronze
- Source
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Size
- 4000 × 2667 px
Public domain · The Metropolitan Museum of Art releases this image under CC0 (latest date -13).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (The Met Open Access, isPublicDomain=true)
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (The Met Open Access, isPublicDomain=true)
Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Henry H. Gorringe, 1881