1994.10: Warrior in Armor

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1994.10

Title

Warrior in Armor

Classification

Sculpture

Work Type

sculpture, statuette

Date

late 4th century BCE

Places

Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe

Period

Hellenistic period

Culture

Etruscan

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/301883

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Leaded bronze

Technique

Cast, lost-wax process

Dimensions

12.8 cm (5 1/16 in.)

Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 84.44; Sn, 3.72; Pb, 8.93; Zn, 0.146; Fe, 1.26; Ni, 0.11; Ag, 0.11; Sb, 0.51; As, 0.62; Bi, 0.027; Co, 0.131; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is brownish black, and it extends over modern file marks on the stump of the proper right hand, suggesting the warrior might have been stripped and repatinated. The end of the proper right arm has some green and red corrosion. There are a few isolated patches of green on the surface. Brown encrustations are present in the low areas.

The feet, right hand, and lower portion of the proper left arm are missing. File marks are present on the stump of the right hand. Modern pins were attached to the ankles with lead solder. The warrior is a solid lost-wax cast, with designs done in the wax model prior to casting.


Carol Snow and Nina Vinogradskaya (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

From the collection of Max Falk, who purchased it from Royal Athena Galleries, New York, 25 Feb. 1984.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Max Falk in Honor of Professor David Gordon Mitten

Accession Year

1994

Object Number

1994.10

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

The armored man stands frontally; his left arm, now missing from the elbow, seems to have been held down at his side, while his right arm is extended at waist level; the right hand is missing. The man has short, straight hair. His facial features are large, particularly his eyes and ears. The left eye is slightly higher than the right and the upper and lower eyelids are modeled; the pupils are indicated by small circular depressions. The warrior’s neck is short and thick. He wears a cuirass over a short tunic. On the upper portion of the cuirass are three zones of closely placed vertical lamellae separated by horizontal bands. His shoulders and upper back are covered by additional padding. A double row of broad rectangular fringe (pteruges) appears below the cuirass, and a section of his tunic covers his body to the upper thighs. The legs are fully separated, with the right leg locked, and the left leg forward and slightly bent. The feet are missing. The musculature of the exposed arms and legs is naturalistic.

Subjects and Contexts

• Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level