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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1920.44.304
Title
Anubis
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
mid 7th-late 1st century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient)
Period
Late Period to Ptolemaic
Culture
Egyptian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303973

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
5.2 x 1.3 x 2.1 cm (2 1/16 x 1/2 x 13/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 69.97; Sn, 9.93; Pb, 19.47; Zn, 0.006; Fe, 0.03; Ni, 0.15; Ag, 0.01; Sb, 0.41; As, less than 0.1; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.025; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Leaded Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead
Other Elements: iron, nickel, antimony

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The very dark surface (blackish with green-gray undertones) may be the result of electrochemical treatment. There are a few light green spots of corrosion. The cracks and scratches over the surface suggest both an electrochemical and mechanical cleaning, which resulted in the loss of most of the original surface finish.

The figure was cast solid in one piece, no doubt from a wax model. The incised line around the waist has the soft qualities of a detail formed in wax. The tang on the underside of the base may have been a sprue and probably also served to mount the object.

Francesca G. Bewer (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
1920.44.304
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
The standing figure with a canine head represents Anubis. The god of embalmers, Anubis generally took a canine form, either as a crouching animal upon a shrine or as a composite with a canine head and a human body. The exact type of canine, whether dog or jackal, is uncertain, and may be a hybrid of the two animals. Credited with the invention of mummification, his representation was often included in tomb wall scenes and on various funerary goods, such as coffins or chests. Following the development of the Book of the Dead in the late Second Intermediate Period and early New Kingdom, Anubis began to appear in the vignettes of the illustrated manuscripts, most famously in the scenes accompanying Spell 125, where he would stand beside the great scales measuring the heart of the deceased against maat, or truth (1).

The small size of this figure has left little detailing visible. The short ears and rather blunted snout give only a vague sense of the canine nature of Anubis. He stands on a small oval base, striding forward with his proper left foot. Both arms are held close to the body and are thin wire, welded onto the body in a fairly clumsy manner. A broken suspension hook appears on the back. Examples comparable to this one have been found at Sais, Saqqara, and Abusir (2).

NOTES:

1. Thanks to E. Russo, Brown University, for this information.

2. G. Roeder, Ägyptische Bronzefiguren, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Mitteilungen aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung 6 (Berlin, 1956) 57.


Marian Feldman

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