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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.89
Title
Standing Female Figure
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Female Nude Standing female figure
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
3rd millennium BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
Period
Bronze Age, Early
Culture
Syro-Hittite
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/310327

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Arsenical copper
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
4.3 x 2.1 cm (1 11/16 x 13/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Arsenical Copper:
Cu, 97.51; Sn, less than 0.25; Pb, less than 0.025; Zn, 0.002; Fe, less than 0.01; Ni, 0.11; Ag, 0.01; Sb, less than 0.02; As, 2.38; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The statuette is a solid cast and is intact. It was probably cast in a two-part mold. Some working was done after casting, such as the blunt shaping of the proper right hand, the faceting to shape the proper left leg, and gouge marks across the neck and chest area. The patina is green over brown with tan burial deposits in low areas.


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
1992.256.89
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 statuette features a flat body, a narrow waist, distinctly rendered buttocks, and carefully rendered legs with knees, calves, and small feet. The left arm is bent upward to touch the side of the head. The original form of the right arm, which is broken off at the elbow, is unknown. The head is rounded and marked only by a low vertical nose ridge flanked by continuous concave areas representing the eyes and cheeks. The top of the head is round.
This small statuette, very different in modeling and proportions from the Syro-Hittite series of the Late Bronze Age, is reminiscent of some human statuettes recovered from wealthy tombs at Alaca Höyük and other burial sites in the northeastern part of the Anatolian plateau. Some of these display remarkably naturalistic anatomical features. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assign this unusual statuette, which may well be female, to the Early Bronze Age of east-central Anatolia.

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