Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Arsenical Copper
Alloying Elements: copper, arsenic
Other Elements: lead, iron, silver
K. Eremin, January 2014
Technical Observations: Slightly tapering straight pin with globular head. Mineral deposits cover the lower half and upper half of pin, including the round head.
Technical Observations: The patina consists of gray burial accretions over red and green corrosion layers. The mostly black appearance is probably modern sulfide corrosion due to a previous storage environment.
The object is stable. The surface is fairly well preserved. The round head has a dimple at the top. It is heavy and appears to be a solid cast. The juncture between the head and shaft is obscured with burial accretions. It is likely the object was cast as a single unit from a model made directly in wax and that the pin shaft was refined by hammering after casting. Longitudinal furrows in the pin shaft give the impression it was formed or at least finished by cold working.
Henry Lie (submitted 2012)