Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper:
Cu, 99.37; Sn, less than 0.25; Pb, 0.33; Zn, 0.005; Fe, 0.02; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.055; As, 0.17; 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: Copper
Alloying Elements: copper
Other Elements: lead, iron, arsenic
K. Eremin, January 2014
Technical Observations: The patina is a heavy, obscuring layer of dark green with spots of light green and red. The broken surface on the bottom of the intact pendant indicates there is something missing at that location. The sideways tilt of the tripod appears to be the result of pressure during burial or an impact prior to burial. The repair at the rim is ancient.
The tripod is a solid cast. The components were assembled in the wax model, and the stand was cast as a single unit without any joins after casting. An x-radiograph shows no evidence of metal joins, and the soft texture of the surfaces where components meet gives the appearance of work done in the soft wax to create joins in the model. For example, the legs continue under and then up the inner surface of the top ring section and appear to have been pushed against the inside of the top ring. These overlapping surfaces indicate soft wax manipulation; there would be no need for such a large contact area if joins had been made in the metal. The spiral relief of the main ring and the loop relief on each leg appear to have been formed by working rolled strings of wax directly and attaching them to the underlying wax surface. All of the components, which are relatively simple shapes, were probably made by forming them directly in the wax. A section (1.5 x 6 cm) on the top of the rim is a repair of a casting flaw made at the time of fabrication. It appears that a sheet of wax was applied over the flaw with little attempt to recreate the lost relief pattern. After re-investing the area, a cast-on repair was poured in metal to replace this wax.
Henry Lie (submitted 2003)
