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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.63
Title
Thin Male Figure
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Male Statuette
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/310320

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
5.1 x 1 cm (2 x 3/8 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The statuette is a solid cast. Some working may have been done after casting to shape the figure further. The top may be broken. The patina is a dull grayish green with some spots of green corrosion, some bare metal, and tan burial deposits.


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
1992.256.63
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This statuette consists of an elongated cylindrical body that divides into two legs at the bottom and has a projecting knob to represent genitalia. Two flipper-like arms with oval tips project forward from the shoulders. The head is narrow and features a nose, chin, and rudimentary eyes and ears. The right ear is broken off.
This small votive statuette differs markedly from most other small Syro-Hittite votive statuettes of the Late Bronze Age. It is not clear how the figurine would have stood upright. It provides an especially clear example of how the wax model for the figurine was rolled and pinched by hand.

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