1970.37: Finial Support

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1970.37

Title

Finial Support

Other Titles

Alternate Title: Finial for Shaft

Classification

Sculpture

Work Type

sculpture

Date

9th-8th century BCE

Places

Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Luristan (Iran)

Period

Iron Age

Culture

Iranian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/281808

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Bronze

Technique

Cast, lost-wax process

Dimensions

14.5 x 5 cm (5 11/16 x 1 15/16 in.)

Technical Details

Chemical Composition: EMP analysis from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 90.89; Sn, 7.79; Pb, 0.03; Zn, 0.00; Fe, 0.08; Ni, 0.00; Ag, 0.01; Sb, 0.00; As, 0.00


T. Richardson, June 1999

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 90.45; Sn, 9.38; Pb, 0.07; Zn, 0.005; Fe, 0.07; Ni, 0.01; Ag, 0.02; Sb, less than 0.05; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.02; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina of both finial supports (1959.27 and 1970.37) is green with spots of red with some blue in the interior. Brown burial accretions are also present. The surface is fairly well preserved, although there are some corrosion blisters and surface losses. A 2-cm longitudinal crack in the neck is stable. Some areas of the surface are well preserved, but most areas are obscured by raised corrosion products. There is a dense circular area in the body that is probably an ancient repair; this is visible with the naked eye inside the object. The core material is not visible in the x-radiograph.

The finial supports are both hollow and were cast using the indirect lost-wax process, where the wax model was cast in a mold. The decorative ribs on the base and neck are precise, and this detail may have been refined on either the wax model or the finished bronze. The narrow neck, which would have held the pin that secured the finial to the support (see 2005.78.A-C), could have made use of a slender cylindrical core to prevent it from filling with wax, or the neck of the wax model may have been drilled out or otherwise cleaned after the wax model was cast. The facial features on 1959.27 are soft in shape and show no clear evidence of cold working.


Henry Lie and Tracy Richardson (submitted 1999, updated)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Museum Collection

Accession Year

1970

Object Number

1970.37

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This bulbous finial support is rather plain. It is widest where the body connects to the cylindrical neck, and it tapers toward the open bottom, which is ringed by three raised bands; the lowest band is the thickest. Where the body joins the neck, there is a molded ring with two raised bands. The neck is uniformly cylindrical, with an opening at the top for the insertion of a pin from a finial. The hole does not completely traverse the body. The top is a flattened, plain circle.

Publication History

• Tracy Richardson, "A Technical Study of Luristan Bronzes From Ancient Iran" (thesis (certificate in conservation), Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, June 1999), Unpublished, pp. 1-15 passim

Exhibition History

• The Art of Luristan, Plymouth State College, Plymouth, 10/04/1970 - 10/29/1970; Chapel Arts Center, Manchester, 11/08/1970 - 12/22/1970

Subjects and Contexts

• Ancient Bronzes

Related Objects

• 
  Object Number
  2005.78.A-C
  Title

  "Master of Animals" Finial and Stand

  Classification
  Sculpture
• 
  Object Number
  1959.27
  Title

  Finial Support with Four Faces

  Classification
  Sculpture

Verification Level