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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.31
Title
Bird Pendant
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pendant
Date
10th-8th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Luristan (Iran)
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/310287

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper-tin-antimony alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
4.1 x 4.4 x 1.2 cm (1 5/8 x 1 3/4 x 1/2 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper-Tin-Antimony Alloy:
Cu, 91.79; Sn, 2.94; Pb, 0.36; Zn, 0.014; Fe, 0.01; Ni, 0.21; Ag, 0.09; Sb, 3.91; As, 0.64; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.033; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Mixed Copper Alloy
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, antimony
Other Elements: lead, zinc, iron, nickel, silver, arsenic
K. Eremin, January 2014

Chemical Composition: EMP analysis from sample, Copper-Tin-Antimony Alloy:
Cu, 91.49; Sn, 2.46; Pb, 0.10; Zn, 0.00; Fe, 0.03; Ni, 0.21; Ag, 0.02; Sb, 3.66; As, 0.65


T. Richardson, June 1999

Chemical Composition:
Lead Isotope Analysis (Pb, 0.36%):

Pb206/Pb204, 19.03363; Pb207/Pb204, 15.73581; Pb208/Pb204, 39.45632; Pb, 207/Pb206, 0.82674; Pb 208/Pb206, 2.07298; Pb208/Pb207, 2.50742



P. Degryse

Technical Observations: The patinas of the rooster pendants (173.1972, 181.1972, 182.1972, 184.1972, 186.1972, and 1992.256.31) are green with brown burial accretions. 1992.256.31 is entirely black. 182.1972 has layers of iron corrosion products, and the eyes of that object, from which the rust appears to originate, may be made of a circular-sectioned iron rod inserted through the head. The pendants are in stable condition. Some areas are relatively well preserved and appear smooth. The pendants were cast from models made directly in the wax. A minimal amount of cold working was used to decorate the necks, bodies, and tails, perhaps to depict feathers.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

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
1992.256.31
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
This pendant is in the form of a stylized rooster seated frontally. The rooster has a long, downward-curving beak (here with a faint central line delineating the upper and lower sections), large raised almond-shaped eyes with segments showing eyelid divisions on either side of its head, and a comb with three tall, widely spaced points on the top of its head. It has a long neck, decorated by three raised bands encircling the neck at the midpoint. There is a large vertical loop connecting the rooster’s neck and shoulders. Its simple body is long, and it has clearly formed legs in the front, as well as bands across its breast at the lower point of the loop (the bands in this case coincide with the top and bottom of the suspension loop). The long body and tail feathers have simple molded decoration on the sides and the end. There are three raised bands at the end of the body before the tail. There is a long, shallow concavity on the underside.

Publication History

  • Tracy Richardson, "A Technical Study of Luristan Bronzes From Ancient Iran" (thesis (certificate in conservation), Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, June 1999), Unpublished, pp. 1-15 passim

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

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