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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2001.257
Title
Comic Actor in the Role of a Kitchen Slave
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
second half 4th-first half 3rd century BCE or modern
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Classical period, Late, to Early Hellenistic
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/146546

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
7.6 x 6.4 x 1.6 cm (3 x 2 1/2 x 5/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:

Cu, 68.81; Sn, 3.71; Pb, 24.46; Zn, 1.68; Fe, 0.04; Ni, 1.08; Ag, 0.03; Sb, less than 0.05; As, 0.15; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.04; Au, less than 0.02; Cd, less than 0.002

J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Leaded Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead
Other Elements: iron
K. Eremin, January 2014

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 2
Alloy: Leaded bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead
Other Elements: iron
Comments: The amounts of zinc and nickel suggested by the ICP-MS/AAA data are not confirmed by XRF analysis, which did not detect either element.

K. Eremin, June 2015

Chemical Composition:
ICP-OES data from sample, Leaded Bronze:



Cu, 61.26; Sn, 4.36; Pb, 29.151; Zn, 1.91; Fe, 0.13; Ni, 1.17; Ag, 0.01; Sb, 0.05; As, 0.15; Co, 0.042; Au, 0.002; Cd, not detected



P. Degryse

Chemical Composition:
Lead Isotope Analysis (Pb, 29.15%):

Pb206/Pb204, 18.84620; Pb207/Pb204, 15.68558; Pb208/Pb204, 38.87110; Pb, 207/Pb206, 0.83229; Pb 208/Pb206, 2.06254; Pb208/Pb207, 2.47814



P. Degryse

Technical Observations: The patina is green, with spots of brown oxidized metal visible at the worn high points and where the green has been scraped away during mechanical cleaning. A number of tool marks are noted, the result of either cleaning or roughening the surface. There are cracks in the proper left forearm, but it is stable. The surface is fairly well preserved. There is no clear evidence of deep-seated corrosion, although the surface appears old and somewhat worn under magnification. The lack of a proper right hand and both feet are probably due to casting flaws.

The figurine is a solid cast. A mold may have been used to make the wax model, or the wax may have been shaped directly. There may be faint indications of a seam along the side of the figure, which would not be expected for an ancient bronze and may be an indication that it was cast from a mold taken from an existing copper alloy statuette. The soft arm, leg, and facial details were probably created in the wax model. Elongated punch marks in the hair and face were made after casting the metal. The attachment holes (2.8 mm in diameter) in the hands could have been made in the wax model or after casting. The texture of the hair is rather crude.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Anonymous gift. Purchased from Christie’s (London) 7 Nov. 2001, lot 296; previously offered at Christie’s (London) 25 April 2001, lot. 233. Owned in 1967 by N. A. C. Embiricos, who acquired it 29 April 1961 from Ars Antiqua, Luzern, Auction 3, no. 61 where it was said to be from the collection of Prof. Bruno Meissner (Berlin-Zeuthen).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Anonymous Gift in honor of David Gordon Mitten
Accession Year
2001
Object Number
2001.257
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
The small figure, in the costume of a comic actor, stands frontally with legs locked, shoulder-width apart; his right arm is held straight out from his shoulder, and his left arm is bent at the elbow and raised with palm upward to hold something. A circular hole in the center of the upraised left hand indicates that an object was previously attached there; a thumb is indicated, but no fingers. The right hand, which also has a perforation in the center, has no indication of fingers. The actor wears a mask with small, high-set, semicircular ears; exaggerated, arched brow ridges; large eyes and eyebrows; a small snub nose; and a long, full beard and moustache. Either the figure has short hair, indicated by short, shallow incisions, or the mask worn by the figure obscures those details. He wears a short, one-shouldered tunic; extending below the tunic and curving onto the right leg is a long fake phallus of the type worn by comic actors (1). Spiral lines decorate the legs and arms, possibly depicting more of a costume. The back is featureless except for indications of the tunic and lines on the back of the head.

A similar but more complete copper alloy figure of this type from Olynthus is dated to before the destruction of the city in 347 BCE (2). That figure has a more elaborate hat, slightly more detailed tunic, and the implements attached to his hands are still partially present (3).

NOTES:

1. See M. Bieber, The History of the Greek and Roman Theater (Princeton, 1961) 39-41 and 129-46; also 2007.104.4.

2. See D. M. Robinson, Metal and Minor Miscellaneous Finds, an Original Contribution to Greek Life, Excavations at Olynthus 10 (Baltimore, 1941) 1-6, no. 1, pl. 1 (inv. no. 31.234).

3. Another comic actor statuette with implements still partially attached to its hands is in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, inv. no. 953.171; see D. G. Mitten and S. F. Doeringer, Master Bronzes from the Classical World, exh. cat., The Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University; City Art Museum of St. Louis; The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Mainz, 1967) 120, no. 118. Other similar copper alloy examples of comic actors include ibid., 120-21, no. 119.B; and C. Bauchhenss-Thüridel, “Zwei Schauspielerstatuetten,” in Das Wrack: Der antike Schiffsfund von Mahdia 1, eds. G. Hellenkemper Salies, H.-H. von Prittwitz und Graffron, and G. Bauchhenss (Cologne, 1994) 539-49, no. F220, figs. 1-5.


Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • David Gordon Mitten and Suzannah F. Doeringer, Master Bronzes from the Classical World, exh. cat., Verlag Philipp von Zabern (Mainz am Rhein, Germany, 1967), p. 120, no. 119, A.
  • Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums Annual Report 2001-2002 (Cambridge, MA, 2003), p. 18.

Exhibition History

  • Master Bronzes from the Classical World, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 12/04/1967 - 01/23/1968; City Art Museum of St. Louis, St. Louis, 03/01/1968 - 04/13/1968; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 05/08/1968 - 06/30/1968
  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/04/2021 - 01/02/2022

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