1960.481: Patera Handle

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1960.481

Title

Patera Handle

Classification

Vessels

Work Type

handle

Date

early 5th century BCE

Places

Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, South Italy?

Period

Archaic period, Late, to Early Classical

Culture

Greek

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/303837

Location

Location

Level 3, Room 3620, University Study Gallery

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Physical Descriptions

Medium

Leaded bronze

Technique

Cast, lost-wax process

Dimensions

22.3 x 10.2 cm (8 3/4 x 4 in.)

Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 84.9; Sn, 4.95; Pb, 9.68; Zn, 0.011; Fe, 0.1; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.02; Sb, 0.06; As, 0.23; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.024; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is a mottled green, black, and brown, with areas of cupritic red. Around the eyes of the figure a thicker, flaking, black layer seems to be closest to the surface, with some green over it. In other areas, such as between the feet, the green layer is under the black layer. Perhaps some of the black layer is original, while some may be a later addition. Some areas of the surface appear very worn or devoid of detail, such as the rams and the figure’s feet. Numerous parallel chisel or chatter marks that cut through the corrosion are visible on the limbs and parts of the back. Two holes pierce the ram’s head at the base of the figure’s feet—one is larger, shallower, and threaded; the other is smaller and deeper. These are no doubt related to an earlier mounting system. The rust behind the ram’s head is not related to these holes.

The object is a solid lost-wax cast. The figure, the rams with the cross bar, and the palmette attachment plate were probably formed separately, joined at the wax stage, and cast in the metal in one piece. This is suggested by the slightly discontinuous surface at the join of the palmette and the cross bar, as well as at the join of the rams and the head of the youth, and by the different quality of modeling of the flat back surface of the rams compared to the more three-dimensional nature of the youth’s hands. The modeling of the youth is well done, although abstracted and softened by wear and cleaning. The facial features are well preserved, and the metal shines through a thin brownish-black coating in some areas. The fine lines on the back of the palmette were made in the metal after casting. A few crisp, parallel lines on the bottom of the proper right foot are unlikely to be original, as they do not seem to define toes, and they are probably the result of the extensive cleaning to which the handle was subjected.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

[Munzen und Medaillen A. G., Basel, Auction Sale 14, June 19, 1954, lot 24], sold; to David M. Robinson, Baltimore, MD, bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1960.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson

Accession Year

1960

Object Number

1960.481

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

The palmette attachment plate is incised on the back only (the front face is plain where it would have connected with a patera bowl). The incisions represent two downward-curving volutes, a central diamond, and lines to separate the leaves. The palmette curves to accommodate the bowl. The section it is joined to, with the curved rim and two rams, is otherwise flat and completely featureless on the back. On the front, the rim has a raised band along the edge and ends in semi-circular volute-like knobs. There is a bar descending from the center of the rim to the tails of the rams and the top of the youth’s head. The two recumbent rams are back-to-back with tails touching. Each is shown in profile, with relatively few details. Three of four legs are visible; there are raised areas for the eyes and tops of the noses, a backward-curling horn around the ear, and a short straight tail, rendered fairly naturalistically.

The youth stands frontally with feet together and hands held upward behind the rams. The palms of his hands are pressed flat against the flat backs of the rams, with thumbs splayed and incisions to mark the separation of the fingers. Sections of the hair are modeled. No ears are visible under the block-like hair. The youth’s face is Archaic, with the typical smile; the eyes are large, the nose is small and pointed, and the chin is round. The neck appears very thick with the hair right behind it. The arms are upraised at right angles. The musculature is naturalistic overall, but it is not highly developed and has few details. There are two voids between the legs of the youth, although there is a section of metal joining the legs at the calves. The toes of the youth are pointed and side-by-side, and incisions indicating toes are visible on the right foot. The bottom of the handle has a representation of a downward-facing ram’s head with a curving horn on either side, emerging from the youth’s feet.

The back of the youth is modeled, with long hair rendered schematically in a block, while the muscles of the back, buttocks, and legs appear more natural. The heels of the feet are difficult to see. There is a hollowed area between the feet on the back, with some discolored remains, which may have been used to suspend the patera by the handle when not in use.

Publication History

• Fogg Art Museum, The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities, A Special Exhibition, exh. cat., Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, 1961), p. 29, no. 231
• Suzannah F. Doeringer, David Gordon Mitten, and Arthur Steinberg, ed., Art and Technology: A Symposium on Classical Bronzes, M.I.T. Press (Cambridge, MA, 1970), p. 154, fig. 18.

Exhibition History

• The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961
• Re-View: S422-423 Western Art of the Middle Ages & Renaissance, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 08/16/2008 - 06/18/2011
• 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/31/2024 - 01/05/2025

Subjects and Contexts

• Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level