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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1954.138
Title
Ladle with Handle Terminating in Duck's Head
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
ladle
Date
2nd century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Etruria
Period
Hellenistic period
Culture
Etruscan
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/312176

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
26.2 x 6.7 x 6.8 cm (10 5/16 x 2 5/8 x 2 11/16 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina is green with brown accretions. The object appears to have been cast in a single piece. The incised lines on the handle and the detail on the duck head are covered with rough corrosion products, and it is not possible to determine if these decorations were cast or cold worked. The x-radiograph of the bowl shows numerous hammer marks, indicating that it was formed or greatly refined with cold working. The hammer marks form concentric circles around the center of the bowl, each measuring c. 5 mm in diameter.


Henry Lie (submitted 2000)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Edward W. Forbes, gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1954.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Edward W. Forbes
Accession Year
1954
Object Number
1954.138
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
The bowl of this ladle is well preserved and features distinctly modeled “wings” on the rim. Its handle rises at a steep angle, flaring at the neck, before narrowing and dipping down to terminate in the head of a duck. Unlike better-preserved pieces, such as 1977.216.1982, the features of the duck’s head, such as the nostrils and teeth, are not clearly visible, probably due to corrosion.

This ladle would probably have been used in conjunction with a strainer, the customary implements used for serving wine (1).

NOTES:

1. See D. K. Hill, “Wine Ladles and Strainers from Ancient Times,” Journal of the Walters Art Gallery 5 (1942): 41-55.


Aimée F. Scorziello

Publication History

  • George M. A. Hanfmann, Greek Art and Life, An Exhibition Catalogue, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1950), no. 27.

Exhibition History

  • Greek Art and Life: From the Collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Private Lenders, Fogg Art Museum, 03/07/1950 - 04/15/1950

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