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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2002.340
Title
Handle Attachment with Opposing Horse Heads
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
handle
Date
7th-mid 5th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Italic
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/97069

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
4.7 x 10.6 x 1.8 cm (1 7/8 x 4 3/16 x 11/16 in.)
Technical Details

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

Technical Observations: The patina is green with spots of underlying red; brown burial accretions are also present. The corrosion layers obscure much of the surface, which has little fine detail.

The long section between the horse heads is hollow and open on the back. The horse heads are solid cast. The soft, somewhat irregular, shapes indicate the object was cast from a model made by working directly in the wax. The holes at both ends of the handle section are irregular and were probably made in the wax model.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Carol Hebb and Alan Feldbaum
Accession Year
2002
Object Number
2002.340
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
Opposing horse heads decorate the ends of this handle attachment. The horse heads are solid and very schematic, with pointed ears and a slight, raised crest to indicate the mane. Raised bumps represent eyes, but no other details are added. The attachment portion is a half cylinder, open on the back to fit onto the rim of a vessel. Three raised, vertical bands decorate the front of the cylinder, one under each horse head and one in the center. There is a single perforation through each end.

Very similar handle attachments are in the Badischen Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (1). Attachments of this type were fitted onto large bowls, and a wire handle for the bowl was affixed to the attachment plate at the holes under each horse’s head.

NOTES:

1. See F. Jurgeit, Die etruskischen und italischen Bronzen sowie Gegenstände aus Eisen, Blei und Leder im Badischen Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, Terra Italia 5 (Pisa, 1999) 282-83, nos. 462-66, pls. 142-43.


Lisa M. Anderson

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