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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.35
Title
Dog-Shaped Plaque
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Dog Buckle (Sarmartian or Ordos type )
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
jewelry
Date
1st Millennium BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Culture
Unidentified culture
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304175

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
5.6 x 1 x 4.2 cm (2 3/16 x 3/8 x 1 5/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The object is heavily mineralized; large crystals of cuprite emerge from among the green copper corrosion products and the remains of tan-colored burial accretions.

This object was cast in one piece by the lost-wax process. The disruption of the surface due to mineralization and corrosion is such that it is impossible to characterize how it was made or finished beyond observing that the body of the animal seems very two-dimensional and was therefore probably made from a sheet of wax, while the head is more three-dimensional. The loops on the back of the figure were most likely cast integrally.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Louise M. and George E. Bates, Camden, ME (by 1971-1992), gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1992.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Louise M. and George E. Bates
Accession Year
1992
Object Number
1992.256.35
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 plaque takes the form of a long-legged animal facing right. The rendering is very stylized, but a horse, wolf, or even dog may be the subject. The hindlimbs are slightly longer than the forelimbs. The paws are joined at the bottom of the forelimbs, with a small separation between the upper legs, while the hindlimbs are entirely joined, with a vertical incision to indicate separation (the same line is also rendered on the reverse). The body is flat, with a slight taper at the waist and a rounded rump. The head is modeled in the round, with a cylindrical snout; two circular impressions and a horizontal line on the end of the snout indicate nostrils and the mouth. While no indication of eye or ear can be seen on the facing side of the plaque, on the reverse a raised circular lump may represent an eye, with another lump, perhaps a flattened ear, behind. Two vertical loops are present on the reverse of the plaque, above the fore- and hindlimbs (1). The loops are circular in section; only one loop (6 mm high) is preserved. A thin rope or leather thong could have been passed through the loops to attach the plaque.

NOTES:

1. Compare similar loops on the reverse of 2003.246. See also U. Jäger and S. Kansteiner, Ancient Metalwork from the Black Sea to China in the Borowski Collection (Ruhpolding, 2011) 142, no. 201.

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