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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1997.248
Title
Mace-Head with Four Gazelle Heads
Classification
Weapons and Ammunition
Work Type
mace
Date
10th-8th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Marlik (Iran)
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/213028

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
6.6 x 5.3 cm (2 5/8 x 2 1/16 in.)
Diameter at base: 2.8 cm (1 1/8 in.)
Diameter at top: 1.8 cm (11/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 89.93; Sn, 7.45; Pb, 1.79; Zn, 0.004; Fe, 0.08; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.09; Sb, 0.05; As, 0.57; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is green. The object was cast by the lost-wax process. The hole for the mace handle is not cylindrical but rather conforms to the bulbous exterior shape. Some core material may have survived on the interior. Corrosion products largely obscure the original surface, masking surface detail.


Tony Sigel (submitted 1999)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Jonathan H. Kagan
Accession Year
1997
Object Number
1997.248
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This bulbous mace head has a raised ring lip at the top, a molded ring foot at the bottom, and four gazelle heads in relief around the body. The gazelle heads are viewed from above, with the long antlers (c. 3 cm long) of each forming a V-shape (the antlers have no additional details). The heads are fairly stylized, with molded noses and raised eyes with incised circles; the jaws of the animals are completely separate from the body of the mace.

Publication History

  • Brooklyn Museum, The Pomerance Collection of Ancient Art: Catalog of an exhibition held at the Brooklyn Museum, June 14 to October 2, 1966, exh. cat., Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn, NY, 1966), p. 38, no. 43.
  • James Cuno, ed., A Decade of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions by the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, Mass., Spring 2000), p. 23

Exhibition History

  • The Pomerance Collection of Ancient Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, 06/14/1966 - 10/02/1966

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