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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.48
Title
Standing Female Figure
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Small Figure
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
14th-13th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
Period
Hittite Empire period
Culture
Syro-Hittite
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304199

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
5.4 x 2.7 x 1.5 cm (2 1/8 x 1 1/16 x 9/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper:
Cu, 98.69; Sn, less than 0.25; Pb, 0.08; Zn, 0.906; Fe, 0.24; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.06; Sb, less than 0.02; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The statuette is a solid cast. The figure is largely intact but may have been cleaned or stripped. The surface patina is brown with some green corrosion, which seems to have resulted from burial, although there are some areas of bare metal. An orange-brown material in low areas may be a modern material applied as part of the cleaning treatment, since it is slightly soluble in acetone.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

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
1992.256.48
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 rudimentary female statuette has a narrow body that ends in a single forward projection for the feet. A slight groove above the projection suggests a lower hemline of a garment. The shoulders and arms form a triangular area. The hands reach upward to touch two rounded, pellet-shaped breasts. The head features a projecting beak-like nose, with slashed mouth and two bulging pellet-shaped eyes in front of the horizontally projecting triangular ears. The back of the figure is smooth.
This charming, rudimentary statuette clearly represents a nude goddess of the Astarte type. However, its lack of distinguishing characteristics makes it difficult to assign it to a particular region. It was probably a votive offering in a sanctuary somewhere in the Levantine coast or Cilicia. While there are no immediately comparable examples have been found, the statuette may be grouped very loosely within the broad area of votive figurines representing a nude fertility goddess that are known from Cilicia down the Levantine coast to Israel during the Late Bronze Age.

David G. Mitten

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