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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1964.12.40
Title
Half Pendant
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pendant
Date
n.d.
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Sardis (Lydia)
Find Spot: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey), Western Türkiye (Turkey)
Culture
Unidentified culture
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304242

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
2.4 x 1.4 x 0.7 cm (15/16 x 9/16 x 1/4 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina is black with areas of underlying red. Brown burial accretions are also present. The surface is well preserved and relatively clean.

The object was cast, probably from a model made directly in wax. The edges of the hollow back are flattened and all in the same plane as a result of finishing this surface abrasively. The three grooves on the front were also finished abrasively. Scratches from this work are visible on both surfaces. The hole of the suspension loop is irregular and appears to have been cut in the wax.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Brought from Sardis; by Frederick Marquand Godwin, New York, (by 1914), by descent; to his wife Dorothy W. Godwin, New York (1914-1964), gift; to the Fogg Museum of Art, 1964.

Note: Frederick M. Godwin was the photographer for the excavations at Sardis with Howard Crosby Butler in 1913 and 1914.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Frederick M. Godwin
Accession Year
1964
Object Number
1964.12.40
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 pendant is in the shape of a hollow hemisphere, with a loop on the top and three striations on the exterior from the midpoint to the bottom.

It is unclear if the pendant is intact or if it was cut, vertically dividing the loop, in modern times. Perhaps this piece had a matching cover, although it lacks a latching mechanism or hinge.

NOTES:

1. Compare another possible pendant that also has a complete loop and a hemispherical body with a finished edge in Les bronzes antiques de Paris, Collections du Musée Carnavalet (Paris, 1989) 361, no. 356.

Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • Jane Waldbaum, Metalwork from Sardis: The Finds through 1974, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA, 1983), p. 153, no. 1015, pl. 58.

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