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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1998.253
Title
Handle in the Form of a Leopard
Other Titles
Former Title: Handle in the Form of a Panther
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
handle
Date
2nd-3rd century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/221551

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
17.4 x 5.97 x 5.94 cm (6 7/8 x 2 3/8 x 2 5/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 79.3; Sn, 5.77; Pb, 14.68; Zn, 0.014; Fe, 0.05; Ni, 0.05; Ag, 0.06; Sb, 0.08; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 2
Alloy: Leaded Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead
Other Elements: iron
Comments: The handle does not seem to have been inlaid.
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is irregular with areas of red and green. A crack runs from the back down the proper left side to the chest. An area of the triangular attachment plate (1 cm x 2 cm) is restored in resin. The surface is rough due to corrosion products, but the cast detail is fairly well preserved.

The object is relatively light, indicating that it is hollow. The attachment plate and the tail are integral with the body. The wax model for the handle was probably cast, but the facial details, the mane, the fur on the legs, and the spots appear fluid under magnification and were modeled directly in the wax.


Henry Lie (submitted 2002)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Lois Orswell Collection
Accession Year
1998
Object Number
1998.253
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Commentary
For a detailed discussion of leaping panther handles, see Martin Guggisberg, "Two handles in the shape of leaping panthers," in The Late Roman Silver Treasure from Traprain Law, ed. by Fraser Hunter, Annemarie Kaufmann-Heinimann, and Kenneth Painter, 172-79. Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland, 2022.

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This handle is in the shape of a rampant leopard and was formerly attached to a vessel, probably an oinochoe. The leopard seems to growl; the mouth is open, its tongue out, its triangular ears are laid back, and the area between its eyes is molded into deep furrows. The underside of the forepaws is flattened to grip the rim of a vessel. The hind paws are connected to a triangular attachment plate that would have been soldered to the vessel. The head is turned to the right; the tail coils around the hind legs. A fringe of fur with short hatch marks extends from the bottom of the lower section of all four limbs. There is a vertical depression running the length of the leopard’s belly.

A vessel with a leopard-shaped handle was recently discovered in Wales and gives a good illustration of how the handle and vessel might have interacted (1). A vessel with a similar handle was found in Pompeii (2).

NOTES:

1. S. Worrell, “Roman Britain 2003: Finds Reported Under the Portable Antiquities Scheme,” Britannia 35 (2004): 317-34, esp. 321-23, fig. 2. The head of the leopard in that case gazes into the vessel, while the head of the leopard on the Harvard handle looks away from it.

2. See also Piccoli bronzi del Real museo borbonico (Naples, 1858) pl. 4.23, from Pompeii; also published in L. Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli, ed., Il bronzo dei Romani: Arredo e suppellettile (Rome, 1990) 111, fig. 59 and S. Tassinari, Il vasellame bronzo di Pompei, Ministero per i beni culturali ed ambientali, Soprintendenza archeologica di Pompei 5 (Rome, 1993) 114, Type Y4000.

Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • Marjorie B. Cohn and Sarah Kianovsky, Lois Orswell, David Smith, and Modern Art, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2002), p. 364, cat. no. 313, fig. 196.
  • Lisa Anderson, "Approaches to the Identification and Classification of Ancient Bronzes in Museum Collections", Ancient Bronzes through a Modern Lens: Introductory Essays on the Study of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes, ed. Susanne Ebbinghaus, Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2014), 92-111, pp. 105-107, fig. 4.5.
  • Susanne Ebbinghaus, ed., Ancient Bronzes through a Modern Lens: Introductory Essays on the Study of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes, Harvard Art Museum and Yale University Press (Cambridge, MA, 2014), pp. 105-106, fig. 4.5

Exhibition History

  • Lois Orswell, David Smith, and Modern Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/21/2002 - 02/16/2003
  • Ancient to Modern, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2012 - 06/01/2013

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