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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1986.575
Title
Bird Pendant
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pendant
Date
second half 8th-6th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Thessaly
Period
Geometric period to Classical
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303874

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
4 x 5.2 x 1.1 cm (1 9/16 x 2 1/16 x 7/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 76.96; Sn, 9.48; Pb, 13.48; Zn, 0.008; Fe, 0.03; Ni, 0.02; 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 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Leaded Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead
Other Elements: iron
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is dark green and gray, and the object is a solid cast. The rectangular legs were added to the more rounded shape of the body, presumably in the wax model. The body could have been hand formed in wax or cast in a mold and pinched to a thinner dimension at the tail. There is no evidence of mold lines. The 3-mm hole at the top of the back is a casting flaw. The gray color of much of the corrosion products and the white color of the drilled sample are a result of the high lead content of the alloy.


Henry Lie (submitted 2000)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Nagler
Accession Year
1986
Object Number
1986.575
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 bronze bird has a low crest and a flattened upward curving tail. The patina is a smooth grayish brown, with darker patches and some minor corrosion. The body is pierced vertically from the back to the underside, although the hole is now blocked with corroded material. The legs are vertical rectangular tangs spaced 0.8 cm apart. The eyes are formed by relief pellets; the upper edge of the short beak is curved. The head and neck extend diagonally forward.

This type of copper alloy bird with exaggerated upward-curving tail appears in many southern and central Greek and Macedonian bronze-casting styles (1). J. Bouzek has designated this type as the peacock or domestic pullet (2).

NOTES:

1. For crested peacock types with rectangular tangs from Pherai, see K. Kilian, Fibeln in Thessalien von der mykenischen bis zur archaischen Zeit, Prähistorische Bronzefunde 14.2 (Munich, 1975) 184-85, nos. 3-13, pl. 86. For a parallel example from Olympia on a round, openwork base and attributed to a Lakonian workshop, see W.-D. Heilmeyer, Frühe olympische Bronzefiguren: Die Tiervotive, Olympische Forschungen 12 (Berlin, 1979) 188, no. 942, pl. 120. For other parallels, see I. Kilian-Dirlmeier, Anhänger in Griechenland von der mykenischen bis zur spätgeometrischen Zeit, Prähistorische Bronzefunde 11.2 (Munich, 1979) 128-39, nos. 712-59, pls. 38-41; see also pls. 103A and 104A for distribution maps. See J.-L. Zimmermann, “Oiseaux géométrique de Grèce central et septentrionale,” Numismatica e Antichità Classiche (Quaderni Ticinesi) 17 (1988): 37-53, esp. fig. 4.

2. On the solid-cast “peacock” (Pfauhahn) or “domestic pullet” (Henne) types, see J. Bouzek, “Die griechisch-geometrischen Bronzevögel,” Eirene 6 (1967): 115-39, esp. 125-39, fig. 10.


Tamsey Andrews and David G. Mitten

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