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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1973.21
Title
Part of a Foot from a Large Statuette
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
1st-3rd century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304043

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
5.72 cm (2 1/4 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 71.24; Sn, 8.06; Pb, 17.07; Zn, 0.028; Fe, 1.76; Ni, 0.15; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.05; As, 0.32; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 1292; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is black. Scrape marks from cleaning are visible in many areas. Deep dents at the top break-edge appear ancient and may relate to the breaking off of the foot from the figure.

The foot was cast with an open bottom, and the proper right edge is a finished cast-edge. The back and left edges are breaks. The ball of the foot is flat. When the foot is placed on a flat surface, the arch section of the foot is raised off of the ground. Application of wax to the interior of the mold is very irregular and the thickness of the casting varies from 3 to 11 mm. The details of the toenails were modeled in the wax.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Dorothy B. Austin
Accession Year
1973
Object Number
1973.21
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This fragment represents the first three toes of a left foot and part of the right side, along with part of the sole, preserved to the middle of the arch. Only the toes are solid; nails and toes were cleanly and neatly incised in the wax before casting. The right side of the foot preserves the cast edge, and the toes and ball of the foot show the original resting surface, suggesting that the back of the foot was raised slightly off the ground. Although broken at the arch, part of the curved underside of the sole is preserved. The left side is also broken all along the edge.


Carol Mattusch

Publication History

  • Carol C. Mattusch, "Artists and Workshops: The Craft and the Product", Ancient Bronzes through a Modern Lens: Introductory Essays on the Study of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes, ed. Susanne Ebbinghaus, Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2014), 112-31, pp. 121-22, fig. 5.5.
  • Susanne Ebbinghaus, ed., Ancient Bronzes through a Modern Lens: Introductory Essays on the Study of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes, Harvard Art Museum/Yale University Press (Cambridge, MA, 2014), pp. 121-122, fig. 5.5

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