Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 76.57; Sn, 6.56; Pb, 16.69; Zn, 0.04; Fe, 0.01; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.05; Sb, 0.06; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer
Technical Observations: The patina is brown with green and reddish corrosion products overlaying it in areas. The surface appears smooth and well preserved, although some of the modeling seems flattened—for instance, the figure’s front curls and chin, as well as a small area above the edge on the proper left side of the neck—and the nose seems to have been pushed in, perhaps as the result of a casting flaw. There is a recess in the place of a now-missing rectangular patch on the front of the figure’s neck, and a break in the metal adjacent to another patch in the neck has widened.
The head is a hollow cast with relatively thick walls (ranging from c. 3.5 to 5 mm at neck). It is partly filled with lead, and the opening to the neck is also obscured by resinous and waxy materials. For the most part, the details on the outer surface seem to have been modeled in the wax, especially the wavy curls, which are undercut. The pupils may have been enhanced in the metal with a small rounded punch.
It is not clear whether the head was broken off a larger bust or statuette, or if it had been attached to a separately cast body. The edge of the neck is uneven: in one area it looks cut, in another it looks rounded as if it had been cast unfinished. There are several rectangular patches along the neck: two above the rim and one that seems to have been broken through at the rim. The area once hidden by the missing patch reveals what appears to be a pin. The remains of a small separately cast loop are set into the top of the head. It is not clear when this was added, but it appears to be old based on the corrosion material around it.
Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2001)
