Chemical Composition: Handle
XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Copper
Alloying Elements: copper
Other Elements: lead
Face plate
XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Copper
Alloying Elements: copper
Other Elements: tin, lead, iron, antimony
K. Eremin, January 2014
Technical Observations: The patina is green with areas of reddish brown. The object is distorted from burial and possibly from use. The proper left edge is preserved, but the right is partially lost. Other losses on the face are the result of corrosion. The circular hole (6 mm in diameter) on the left cheek is the result of damage rather than an original mounting hole.
The face was fabricated from a cold-worked sheet of bronze. The relief of the face was created from both sides using a repoussé technique. There is a seam on the back of the hollow column where the sheet that forms it overlaps c. 1 cm. The seam is leaded, and lead residue is present on c. 40% of the interior and in many areas of the exterior. It is unsightly and not likely to have been the result of original fabrication. It is possible that a modern heating of the object, possibly to anneal it for reshaping, is responsible for the spreading of the lead. The patterns of the lead on the interior do not appear to be related to any means of attachment to a substrate.
Henry Lie (submitted 2001)
