Your Collection

Add this item to your collection
Harvard Art Museums
Incorrect Username, Email, or Password
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1977.216.2007
Title
Thymiaterion (Incense Stand) with Three Legs
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
3rd-2nd century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Etruria
Period
Hellenistic period
Culture
Etruscan
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304092

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast and hammered
Dimensions
32.2 cm (12 11/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 65.07; Sn, 6.34; Pb, 27.96; Zn, 0.013; Fe, 0.14; Ni, 0.04; Ag, 0.1; Sb, 0.08; As, 0.2; Bi, 0.041; Co, 0.023; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The object has a stripped and pitted metallic surface; brown patina was probably applied after the harsh stripping treatment and resulting loss of surface detail. A modern cup is present on the top, which is held in place with a pin or rivet. The tripod base is attached to the shaft with a screw and washer.

The incense stand was fabricated in three parts: the cup at the top, the shaft, and the tripod base. Each part was cast separately, and there is no evidence as to ancient joining techniques. The cup may have been hammered after casting.


Carol Snow and Nina Vinogradskaya (submitted 2002)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
1977
Object Number
1977.216.2007
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The incense stand (thymiaterion) consists of three parts: an incense dish, a long vertical shaft, and a tripod base. The shaft of the stand (31 cm high, 1.1 cm in diameter) is a thin circular-sectioned rod covered with faint spiral fluting. The ends of the rod flare at the top and bottom. Near the midpoint of the shaft is an elongated, stylized animal (5.5 cm long), with a long, thin neck and head pointed upward. The crouched animal’s forelegs are pressed against the shaft, while its back is arched; the feet and tail connect again to the shaft. The concave cup riveted to the top of the shaft has a flattened rim, to which is attached a square sheet of metal (6.7 cm maximum width) with a circular depression (4.7 cm in diameter) in the center and a raised edge at the hole. Several fragments of metal are missing from the interior of the circular depression.

The uppermost portion of the base is drum-shaped and hollow; it flares slightly at the top before tapering and then expanding at the legs. The three stylized, anthropomorphic legs are connected by scalloped metal. The thin legs are bent at the knees, with the narrow feet planted on the ground (1).

NOTES:

1. Compare J. W. Hayes, Greek, Roman, and Related Metalware in the Royal Ontario Museum: A Catalogue (Toronto, 1984) 35-38, nos. 44-45; and L. Ambrosini, Thymiateria etruschi in bronzo: Di età tardo classica, alto e medio ellenistica, Studia archaeologica 113 (Rome, 2002) 174-76, 229, 239, 244, 259, and 265 (type GU); esp. nos. 104, 156, 165, 229, 244, and 282; fig. 11; pls. 34, 44, 47, 62, 65, and 72.

Lisa M. Anderson

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