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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1972.53
Title
Ledge Handle with Rams' Heads on Sides
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
handle
Date
1st century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Roman Republican period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304192

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze, silver inlay eyes
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
3.2 x 9.8 x 5.2 cm (1 1/4 x 3 7/8 x 2 1/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 79.92; Sn, 10; Pb, 8.57; Zn, 0.016; Fe, 0.28; Ni, 0.07; Ag, 0.07; Sb, 0.1; As, 0.98; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; 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, arsenic
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is dark green with spots of red. There are areas of raised corrosion products, but the surface of the relief decorations is well preserved.

The handle is a solid cast made using the lost-wax process. Wax manipulation marks on the interior indicate an indirect process was used, with the model formed by pouring or pressing wax into an open mold. The relief shapes and the linear pattern on the top are fluid in texture and appear to have been cast and then refined in the wax. The beading and punch work in the ram’s hair, ear, and horns was cold worked in the metal. The silver cladding of the eyes was refined with incised lines to depict the iris and pupil.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Frederick M. Watkins, New Haven, CT, bequest; to the Fogg Museum, Harvard University, 1972.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year
1972
Object Number
1972.53
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
The decoration on the exterior of the handle consists of curling tendrils within a rope border; the head of a ram in profile is shown on each side (1). The heads are naturalistically rendered, with wooly fleece indicated by means of a dimpled pattern on the head and neck. Each segmented horn curves around the pointed ear; the hairs on the inside of the ear are depicted. On each side, the eye is inlaid with silver, and a raised circle with a central depression indicates the iris and pupil of the eye. The snout and nostrils are molded, while a line indicates the mouth. On the front of the handle, between the noses of the two heads, a band of short vertical lines is surrounded on all sides by a beaded border. The back of the handle is open, and the underside is concave and undecorated. The walls of the handle are relatively thick, especially at the back, although they are thinner nearer the front.

The exact function of this object is not entirely clear; the handle’s form best resembles that of pottery bell kraters, but no bronze bell kraters have survived from antiquity. It might have been a decorative element for a piece of furniture, as is suggested for the Thorvaldsen Museum example.

NOTES:

1. Compare a similar piece in the Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen, published in T. Melander, Thorvaldsens antikke bronzer (Copenhagen, 2009) 97, no. 130, fig. 73. The Copenhagen piece is described as a decorative furniture element, potentially to cover the end of an armrest, dated to the fifth to fourth centuries BCE.

Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973), p. 81-82, no. 34.

Exhibition History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/1973 - 03/14/1973

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