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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1990.64
Title
Macehead
Classification
Weapons and Ammunition
Work Type
mace
Date
late 3rd Millennium BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Luristan (Iran)
Period
Bronze Age, Early
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/311858

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded copper
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
8.8 x 4.3 cm (3 7/16 x 1 11/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Copper:
Cu, 52.08; Sn, less than 0.25; Pb, 46.74; Zn, 0.002; Fe, 0.03; Ni, 0.05; Ag, 0.09; Sb, 0.1; As, 0.92; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Leaded Copper
Alloying Elements: copper, lead
Other Elements: iron, silver, arsenic
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is green with light brown accretions, which cover approximately 80% of the surface, especially in the crevices. A fracture at the narrower end indicates some of the mace is lost. The rough edge of this brittle fracture has been hammered and scraped down after excavation to hide either the loss or the ragged texture at the end. The accretions appear original, and little cleaning has been attempted.

The freedom and irregularity of the decorative shapes give the impression that the model was shaped directly in wax. A sheet of wax was wrapped around a cylindrical core and a variety of hand formed wax shapes were added to the surface.


Henry Lie (submitted 2005)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jerome M. Eisenberg
Accession Year
1990
Object Number
1990.64
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 cylindrical macehead, hollow in the center, bears elaborate raised decoration on the exterior surface. One end is slightly wider and is decorated with three concentric raised lines. The main decoration consists of alternating zones of decoration: 10 spherical bosses in two rows of five and a thinner strip with a raised straight line on either side of an undulating zigzag line (1). Directly below the main decoration are three concentric raised lines, followed by a band with double zigzag lines creating triangles; within each triangle is a small raised spiral. The macehead terminates in a single raised line, although it may originally have been longer (2).

The macehead would have been placed on a wooden handle and would likely have been used as a ceremonial rather than functional piece (3).

NOTES:

1. Compare other maceheads with bosses and decorative moldings in E. O. Negahban, Weapons from Marlik, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran 16 (Berlin, 1995) 19-32, nos. 120 M, 771 M, 770 M, 953 M, and 79 M, figs. 4-5 and 8, pls. 1.8, 1.10-12, and 2.17.

2. See the Technical Observations, which note a brittle fracture at this end. Compare Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels, inv. nos. IR.0503 and IR.0509, which are both very similar to the Harvard example although much longer, indicating that the Harvard piece could be missing up to half its original length. For other similar and longer examples, compare also Musée Rietberg, Zurich, inv. no. RVA 2040 in Bronzes du Luristan: Énigmes d l’Iran ancien, III-Ier millénaire av. J.-C., exh. cat., Musée Cernuschi (Paris, 2008) 71-72, no. 6; and H. Mahboubian, Art of Ancient Iran: Copper and Bronze (London, 1997) 322, no. 403.b.

3. M. Seifert, Luristan: Blankwaffen der Bronzezeit. Bestandskatalog der Luristanwaffen im Deutschen Klingenmuseum, ed. B. Grotkamp-Schepers (Solingen, 2005) 15-16.


Lisa M. Anderson

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