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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.50
Title
Standing Male Figure of Spike Type
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Male 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/310290

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
7.5 x 2.8 x 1.5 cm (2 15/16 x 1 1/8 x 9/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper:
Cu, 97.97; Sn, 1.24; Pb, less than 0.025; Zn, 0.008; Fe, 0.45; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.01; Sb, less than 0.02; As, 0.27; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.029; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The statuette is a solid cast. The lower portion of the body below the arms appears to have been worked by hot working, cold working, or both to form the pointed tip. The earring fragment in the left ear perforation was probably made by hot working a strip of metal. The figure is intact except for the bottom tip. The patina is light and dark green over black.


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
1992.256.50
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 figure consists of a peg- or nail-like body tapering to a point, the tip of which is missing. Two short, pointed arms extend horizontally and slightly forward from the body. Otherwise, the body is featureless on the front and back. The lower part is rectangular in section. The head features a short beak-like nose with a horizontal groove below for a mouth and what appear to be two pellet-shaped eyes close to the bridge of the nose. Rounded lateral projections representing ears on either side of the head are perforated from front to back. Something, possibly the remnant of an earring, remains in the left perforation. The top of the head is a conical point, perhaps a cap, the front of which slants backward to the tip. Faint horizontal grooves decorate the front of the pointed head or cap.
This type of peg-shaped votive statuette is well known throughout the Levantine coast in 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