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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1968.88
Title
Torc with Loop Ends
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
necklace
Date
late 2nd-mid 1st Millennium BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Near Eastern
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/221581

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Hammered
Dimensions
13 x 12.3 x 0.8 cm (5 1/8 x 4 13/16 x 5/16 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina is a very dark green, and there are gray burial accretions in many areas. Although there are areas of etching and loss, much of the surface is well preserved. The torc was formed by twisting a tapered, hammered rod. The loop ends were made by hammering the ends flat and then bending them into loops.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Richard R. Wagner, gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1968.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Richard R. Wagner
Accession Year
1968
Object Number
1968.88
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 terminals of this torc are flattened and curl to form an open loop on each side; one side is filled with encrustation. The majority of the torc is twisted, while the areas adjacent to the loops are straight. The diameter of the metal tapers slightly from the central point toward each terminal.

It is difficult to suggest a date or geographic region for this type of simple torc, which was used over a wide geographic and temporal span and is rarely found in scientific excavations (1).

NOTES:

1. See E. De Waele, Bronzes du Luristan et d’Amlash: Ancienne collection Godard, Publications d’histoire de l’art et d’archéologie de l’Université Catholique de Louvain 34 (Louvain-la-Neuve, 1982) 186-87 and 246, nos. 308 and 414, figs. 153 and 230. Compare also M. Novotná, Halsringe und Diademe in der Slowakei, Prähisorische Bronzefunde 11.4 (Munich, 1984) 30-38, nos. 258-75, pls. 39-43; and P. König, Spätbronzezeitliche Hortfunde aus Bosnien und der Herzegowina, Prähistorische Bronzefunde 20.11 (Stuttgart, 2004) pls. 32.3, 68.12-13, and 69.14-15.


Lisa M. Anderson

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