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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2005.187
Title
Globular-headed Straight Pin
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pin
Date
25th-24th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
Period
Bronze Age, Early
Culture
Anatolian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/145066

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Arsenical copper
Technique
Cast
Dimensions
8.2 x 1.1 x 0.3 cm (3 1/4 x 7/16 x 1/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Arsenical Copper
Alloying Elements: copper, arsenic
Other Elements: lead, iron, silver
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: Slightly tapering straight pin with globular head. Mineral deposits cover the lower half and upper half of pin, including the round head.

Technical Observations: The patina consists of gray burial accretions over red and green corrosion layers. The mostly black appearance is probably modern sulfide corrosion due to a previous storage environment.

The object is stable. The surface is fairly well preserved. The round head has a dimple at the top. It is heavy and appears to be a solid cast. The juncture between the head and shaft is obscured with burial accretions. It is likely the object was cast as a single unit from a model made directly in wax and that the pin shaft was refined by hammering after casting. Longitudinal furrows in the pin shaft give the impression it was formed or at least finished by cold working.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Purchased by David Gordon Mitten at the bazaar in Izmir, Turkey, during the summer of 1960.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of David Gordon Mitten in memory of W. C. Burriss Young
Accession Year
2005
Object Number
2005.187
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This pin has a long, circular-sectioned shank with a slight taper near the tip. The head of the pin is an oblate sphere with an irregular impression on the top.

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu