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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1952.20
Title
Youth Holding an Oinochoe and Strainer
Other Titles
Alternate Title: nude boy holding patera and jug
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
second quarter 5th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Classical period, Early
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304179

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
11.8 x 5 x 1.9 cm (4 5/8 x 1 15/16 x 3/4 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 80.98; Sn, 10.18; Pb, 8.1; Zn, 0.08; Fe, 0.1; Ni, 0.04; Ag, 0.08; Sb, 0.02; As, 0.2; Bi, 0.192; Co, 0.029; 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, silver, bismuth

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is green with areas of black. A layer of grayish brown is present where no cleaning has occurred, for example under the arms. Deep pits, very irregular and rough corrosion growth, and the thin layer of gray-brown accretion may be the result of burial at sea or other long-term wet burial. The left foot is lost. At the stump is an area of complete mineralization, which is a convincing indication of long-term burial. Other areas of abrasion expose bright metal, and there the depth of corrosion is less significant. The featureless character of the face appears to be by design rather than a result of damage, although this is not certain.

The statuette is a solid cast, probably from a wax model made indirectly in a mold. The surface is damaged, and no fine detail is visible.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Edward Jackson Holmes
Accession Year
1952
Object Number
1952.20
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
A nude youth stands with his weight on his left leg; his right foot is missing just above the ankle. He bends his left knee as he moves his left foot forward. The thrust of his right leg sets up a curving, twisting motion in his torso. The muscular division of his chest and abdomen are rudimentarily modeled. The right side of his inguinal ridge is higher than the left, producing a horizontal crease. His back is also summarily modeled. His spine is a vertical groove that continues between his buttocks. His head turns to the right and downward toward his right arm. His hair is rendered in a cap-like mass, with prominent side locks that cover his ears. His facial features are not preserved.

In his right hand, the youth carries an oval shape, which is connected to his thigh. This appears to be an oinochoe or wine pitcher. In his left hand, he grasps the handle of a circular strainer the interior cavity of which is clearly modeled on both the exterior and interior sides. A rectangular protrusion extending from the wrist to the left hand may represent the handle of the strainer or possibly a strut, and it rather looks like the head of a duck, a feature which was a favorite terminal for handles in Classical serving instruments, especially ladles. The pitcher appears to be a squat trefoil oinochoe. The statuette may have been intended as a finial for the top of a candelabrum or lamp stand (1).

The surface of this statuette is heavily corroded. Extensive areas of incrustation adhere to the back, head, and torso on the left side. This statuette may be a defective casting that was left unfinished deliberately and perhaps lost or discarded. It has also suffered seriously from corrosion and wear, yet some details of the figure, like the strainer and oinochoe, are clearly defined. G. M. A. Hanfmann maintains that the bronze is unfinished. There is a casting line still visible on left shoulder and right arm, and a peg from the casting below the buttocks on the back has been broken off but not removed. He calls the uneven surface a pitted “fireskin,” the original surface of the casting before it has been cleaned and finished.

This statuette of a youth could be ascribed to an Athenian workshop active during the second quarter of the fifth century BCE.

NOTES:

1. Compare a fifth-century BCE statuette of a nude youth, thought to have a candelabrum topper, depicted holding an oinochoe and a strainer in the British Museum, London, inv. no. 1966,0328.14; see P. J. Riis, Vulcientia vetustiora: A Study of Archaic Vulcian Bronzes, Historisk-filosofiske Skrifter 19 (Copenhagen, 1998) 85-87, fig. 86.

David G. Mitten

Publication History

  • George M. A. Hanfmann, "Acquisitions of the Fogg Art Museum: Sculpture and Figurines", American Journal of Archaeology (1954), Vol. 58, No. 3, 223-229, p. 227, pl. 39, figs. 12-13.

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