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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.16
Title
Nude Woman Holding a Vessel
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Aphrodite
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
n.d.
Places
Creation Place: Unidentified Region
Period
Modern
Culture
Unidentified culture
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303660

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded brass
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
8.3 x 2.4 x 1.9 cm (3 1/4 x 15/16 x 3/4 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Brass:

Cu, 72.83; Sn, 1.26; Pb, 2.48; Zn, 22.66; Fe, 0.35; Ni, 0.08; Ag, 0.05; Sb, 0.13; As, 0.16; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, 0.002

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is light green and soft. The heavy layers of green corrosion appear modern, and no underlying red corrosion layer is present. The details in the face are well preserved, but the softened features give the appearance of an object that was cast from a mold taken from an existing copper alloy object. Analysis shows that the alloy is 22% zinc, an unlikely concentration for an antiquity.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 1932.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894
Accession Year
1932
Object Number
1932.56.16
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This standing female appears to be nude, indicating that she might be meant to represent Aphrodite or a nymph, although the statuette may also be modern. Her head is tilted slightly up and to her left, while her torso is frontal and her legs tip slightly to the right. The legs are connected, except at the knees where there is a small separation between them; her feet are pressed together on what may be the remains of a base. Her left leg is locked, while her right knee is bent, and her right foot is slightly behind the left. Viewed from the back, the woman stands in an S-curve. The facial features are heavy, with eyes, eyebrows, small pointed nose, narrow jaw, and chin all crisp. Her hair is parted in the middle and arranged in loose waves around her face; the chignon set in the middle of the back of her head, interrupting the flow of hair around it, has several short lines on it radiating from the center. The woman holds a C-shaped object under her left arm, with her right hand grasping the circular upper terminal and her left hand grasping the lower. Fingers and toes are indicated by incisions.

NOTES:

1. Two figures so similar to the Harvard piece that all three must be the product of the same workshop, if not the same mold, are in the Civico Museo Archeologico “Giovio,” Como; see M. Bolla and G. P. Tabone, Bronzistica figurata preromana e romana del Civico Museo Archeologico “Giovio” di Como (Como, 1996) 292, nos. B 73-74.


Lisa M. Anderson

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