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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1920.44.198
Title
Small Phiale
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
5th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Classical period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303827

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3400, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Greece in Black and Orange
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
1 x 8.9 x 0.1 cm (3/8 x 3 1/2 x 1/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1 and Tracer
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is green with brown burial accretions and spots of underlying red. The object is deeply mineralized and brittle. There are marks in the corrosion layers on the reverse, which indicate that surface was struck. There are cracks in the central area, two of which radiate almost to the outer edge. There are losses (3 cm and 4 cm) along the outer edge.

The precise shapes of the bowl indicate its wax model may have been cast in a mold. A small depression at the center may relate to a spinning method used to finish the cast metal surface and form the very precise incised lines near the umbo. The corroded condition of the surface obscures clear evidence of finishing techniques.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1920.

Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton
Accession Year
1920
Object Number
1920.44.198
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
The small phiale has a raised central umbo, 2.25 cm in diameter and 0.6 cm high, that is hollow on the underside. Its flattened rim is 0.85 cm wide. The umbo is surrounded by a series of raised concentric bands on the interior; only two are visible on the underside, but these do not clearly correspond to the lines on the interior. The bottom of the phiale curves away from the depression of the umbo. There is a thin concentric line around the exterior just below the rim.

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/03/2023 - 01/01/2050

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