1919.535.B: Harpokrates
SculptureIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1919.535.B
- Title
- Harpokrates
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Work Type
- statuette, sculpture
- Date
- mid 7th-late 1st century BCE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient)
- Period
- Late Period to Ptolemaic
- Culture
- Egyptian
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/169508
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Leaded bronze
- Technique
- Cast, lost-wax process
- Dimensions
- 7 cm (2 3/4 in.)
- Technical Details
-
Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 79.37; Sn, 5.97; Pb, 14.07; Zn, 0.006; Fe, 0.09; Ni, 0.04; Ag, 0.13; Sb, 0.05; As, 0.21; Bi, 0.05; Co, 0.019; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. RiedererTechnical Observations: The patina is green with spots of red, and there are brown burial accretions. Abrasions and a lead solder residue at the stubs of the legs are modern.
The statuette is a solid cast. Most or all of the relief detail was probably made in the wax model. There are small flecks of what appears to be gold leaf embedded in the corrosion products at the right arm and in the upper headdress.
Henry Lie
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Museum Collection
- Accession Year
- 1919
- Object Number
- 1919.535.B
- 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 striding figure of Harpokrates is missing his legs below the shins, which are partly filled with a modern metal. He wears the Double Crown and traces of a uraeus or spiral decoration remain on the front. The figure lacks definition in its modeling, but shows torsion in the back of the lower body.
Harpokrates represents the god Horus as a child, shown nude with the side-lock of youth on the right side of his head and his right index finger to his mouth. As the son of Osiris and Isis, he gained immense popularity during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, during which time the production of bronze figurines of Harpokrates flourished. He often wears the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, a feature common in first millennium Egypt when youthful deities acquired kingly attributes. Another characteristic headdress is the nemes head cloth, although frequently the boy is depicted with either a shaven head or a tight-fitting skull cap. His nude body typically retains the roundness of flesh associated with young boys. The child-god could be represented seated, striding, or squatting. When seated, he assumes a semi-reclining position derived from that of a baby on its mother’s lap; many of the smaller examples of these figurines may originally have belonged with a seated Isis figure (1). Suspension loops for attachment as a pendant indicate an amuletic connection that may have been particularly associated with young children.
NOTES:
1. G. Roeder, Ägyptische Bronzefiguren, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Mitteilungen aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung 6 (Berlin, 1956) 13-17, 104-105, pls. 15-22.
Marian Feldman
Subjects and Contexts
- Ancient Bronzes
Related Objects
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