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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.52
Title
Standing Female Figure of Spike Type
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Female Figure
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
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/304201

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
7.8 x 1.8 cm (3 1/16 x 11/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper:
Cu, 98.4; Sn, less than 0.25; Pb, 0.14; Zn, 0.004; Fe, 0.11; Ni, 0.15; Ag, 0.09; Sb, 0.18; As, 0.91; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.017; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is dark grayish black with areas of red and green corrosion. The statuette is missing the proper right hand as well as fragments at the top and bottom. A casting flaw has also left a prominent hole in the nose.

The figure is a solid cast. The lower portion of the body below the arms appears to have been formed by hot working, cold working, or both to form the tip. The grooved lines in the cap and neck appear to have been done after casting.


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
1992.256.52
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 standing female statuette with a pointed body features two stubby arms projecting forward from the elbows. The tip of the right arm does not seem to have been fully cast. There are two small pellet-shaped breasts between the shoulders. The elongated neck is marked by four ridges. The head features a prominent nose, recessed eyes with low pellet-shaped pupils, and tabs projecting from the sides of the head. The pointed top of the head whose tip is missing is marked by five horizontal ridges similar to those on the neck. The back of the statuette is flat and featureless.

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