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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.121
Title
Head of a Satyr, modern copy after a Roman original
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
head, sculpture
Date
19th-early 20th century
Places
Creation Place: Unidentified Region
Period
Modern
Culture
Italian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303982

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded brass
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
23.4 x 19.3 x 22.1 cm (9 3/16 x 7 5/8 x 8 11/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Brass:
Cu, 71.58; Sn, 1.91; Pb, 3.91; Zn, 21.69; Fe, 0.66; Ni, 0.17; Ag, 0.04; Sb, 0.05; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, 0.003

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The bottom edge of the neck is apparently a cast or finished edge. The brown patina has whitish accretions and some green. The surface is not pitted, and the corrosion products show no evidence of penetrating into the metal and are not convincing as ancient. The threaded repair-plugs in the forehead and chin are modern. The patina is brownish black, while white accretions are tinted green in areas. There is no evidence of deep corrosion. Holes in the head and elsewhere are casting flaws. Whether ancient or not, the white accretions, possibly carbonates, appear to have grown due to burial or immersion rather than from manual application.

The cast is indirect, with numerous wax-drip application marks at the interior. The contours of all modeling details are mimicked on interior surfaces. The bottom edge, although irregular, appears to be a cast, finished edge. There are no indications that it is a broken edge or a failed join surface. The threaded plugs (5 mm in diameter) at the forehead and chin are not consistent with ancient manufacture.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: inscription on neck

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
1932.56.121
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 is a full-size reproduction of the head of the famous marble statue of the Dancing Faun in the Galleria degli Uffizi. The Uffizi faun has a round head, short tight curls, pointed ears, two short horns, a fleshy face, and an open mouth. But the statue’s appealing head, arms, and surely much more, are evidently all sixteenth century restorations, and those are the parts of the statue that have inspired the most enthusiasm in modern times, as well as the syncopatic nature that these features give to the whole. In 1695, this dancing faun was hailed as the most beautiful statue that one could see (1).

Copies of the statue were widely available—not only in Florence, but also in Rome and Naples (2). This reproduction of the head alone is particularly difficult to read if one wants to know about the whole figure. The hard, whitish accretions suggest that the head was intended to look like an antiquity to potential buyers, who would neither be familiar with the actual statue nor its modern restorations, of which the head was one.

NOTES:

1. For the history of the ancient statue from which this head was copied, see F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture, 1500-1900 (New Haven, 1981) 205-208, no. 34.

2. S. Chiurazzi, Chiurazzi, società anonima: Fonderie, ceramica, marmeria: Catalogo (Naples, 1929) 332, no. 700, and id., Chiurazzi, società anonima: Fonderie, ceramica, marmeria: Prezzo corrente (Naples, 1929) 39, in bronze (3 patinas) in the original size and in three reduced sizes.


Carol Mattusch

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