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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1960.485
Title
Man Holding a Plaque
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
16th-19th century
Places
Creation Place: Unidentified Region
Period
Modern
Culture
Unidentified culture
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303838

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded brass
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
14.2 x 6.9 x 2.4 cm (5 9/16 x 2 11/16 x 15/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Brass:
Cu, 72.67; Sn, 1.79; Pb, 10.59; Zn, 13.57; Fe, 0.36; Ni, 0.55; Ag, 0.08; Sb, 0.13; As, 0.18; Bi, 0.042; Co, 0.033; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, 0.003

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is dark green with areas of brown resinous material. There is no clear evidence of long-term burial. Some resinous accretions on the surface appear old, but not ancient. His right hand appears to have been cast without fingers rather than damaged.

The bronze is a solid cast. There is little or no evidence of cold working. Details in the modeling are soft, perhaps indicating that it is several generations removed from the original model. Mold lines are visible on the arms and legs at both the left and right sides.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
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
1960.485
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This statuette is a forgery of a known type (1). The youthful male, nude except for a cap, stands frontally. His head is tilted slightly upward and to the left. His right hand is held down and away from his body; the fingers of the hand are missing. In his upraised left hand, he holds the handle of an irregularly shaped sign with worn Greek letters. There is very little detailing in the surface around the eyes or in the musculature.

Similar statuettes are known in the British Museum, London (2), in France, at Boulogne-sur-Mer and Dijon (3), in Italy, at Como (4). The inscription on the British Museum piece was published as ANTIOΧEΩN / TΩN EΠI / ΔAΦNHI. The letter forms are similar to the Harvard piece, although the Harvard inscription begins “APINIOXE,” with the “N” reversed, rather than ”ANTIOXE.” The inscriptions on the various pieces are not translatable.

NOTES:

1. Compare H. Seyrig, “Sur une fausse antiquité d’Antioche.” Syria 38.3-4 (1961): 346-48, esp. fig. 1 (fig. 2 is a related female statuette, probably by the same workshop).

2. “E. J. F.” 1929. “Greek Bronze Statuettes.” The British Museum Quarterly 4.3 (1929): 69-71.

3. Seyrig 1961 (supra 1).

4. M. Bolla and G. P. Tabone, Bronzistica figurata preromana e romana del Civico Museo Archeologico “Giovio” di Como (Como, 1996) 279, no. B 59. The text on the plaque of the Como figure is transcribed as: ANTIOXEON / ΛΩNPIII. / ΔΛ [hedera?] NN.


Lisa M. Anderson

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. 233

Exhibition History

  • The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities: A Special Exhibition, Fogg Art Museum, 05/01/1961 - 09/20/1961

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