1997.248: Mace-Head with Four Gazelle Heads

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1997.248

Title

Mace-Head with Four Gazelle Heads

Classification

Weapons and Ammunition

Work Type

mace

Date

10th-8th century BCE

Places

Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Marlik (Iran)

Period

Iron Age

Culture

Iranian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/213028

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Bronze

Technique

Cast, lost-wax process

Dimensions

6.6 x 5.3 cm (2 5/8 x 2 1/16 in.)
Diameter at base: 2.8 cm (1 1/8 in.)
Diameter at top: 1.8 cm (11/16 in.)

Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 89.93; Sn, 7.45; Pb, 1.79; Zn, 0.004; Fe, 0.08; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.09; Sb, 0.05; As, 0.57; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is green. The object was cast by the lost-wax process. The hole for the mace handle is not cylindrical but rather conforms to the bulbous exterior shape. Some core material may have survived on the interior. Corrosion products largely obscure the original surface, masking surface detail.


Tony Sigel (submitted 1999)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Jonathan H. Kagan

Accession Year

1997

Object Number

1997.248

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This bulbous mace head has a raised ring lip at the top, a molded ring foot at the bottom, and four gazelle heads in relief around the body. The gazelle heads are viewed from above, with the long antlers (c. 3 cm long) of each forming a V-shape (the antlers have no additional details). The heads are fairly stylized, with molded noses and raised eyes with incised circles; the jaws of the animals are completely separate from the body of the mace.

Publication History

• Brooklyn Museum, The Pomerance Collection of Ancient Art: Catalog of an exhibition held at the Brooklyn Museum, June 14 to October 2, 1966, exh. cat., Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn, NY, 1966), p. 38, no. 43.
• James Cuno, ed., A Decade of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions by the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, Mass., Spring 2000), p. 23

Exhibition History

• The Pomerance Collection of Ancient Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, 06/14/1966 - 10/02/1966

Subjects and Contexts

• Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level