Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Leaded Brass
Alloying Elements: copper, lead, zinc
Other Elements: tin, iron, nickel
K. Eremin, January 2014
Technical Observations: The patina is brown and shows no definite signs of deep corrosion. Remains of gray friable burial accretions or mold material are caught in recesses. Two thin modern rods have been inserted between the perforated plaque and the crossbars and glued in place using a dark brown material and some transparent glue. The rods are used to mount the object to its base, which is cast stone or perhaps tinted plaster.
This object was cast in one piece by the lost-wax process. It was assembled from several wax components: the perforated plaque, the hook, and the two crossbars on the back. The plaque component was probably formed indirectly in the wax, and the holes were already present in the wax model, as can be seen from their rounded edges—especially on the back—and the metal flashes that filled some of the openings and were not chased clean. The recessed perpendicular grooves around the edges that help define the pattern of perforations on the front of the object were also created in the wax stage, as can be seen from the soft quality of the fine parallel ridges. The object does not appear to have been heavily reworked after casting, except to eliminate a few flashes, for example along the side of the hook. A few small scratches on one of the flashes reveal shiny metal. The diagonal striations on the crossbars were also present in the wax. The upper one is slightly caved in.
Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012)
