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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1920.44.186
Title
Mask
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
mask, sculpture
Date
n.d.
Culture
Unidentified culture
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303892

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Repoussé
Dimensions
16.2 x 10.9 x 0.5 cm (6 3/8 x 4 5/16 x 3/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: Handle
XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Copper
Alloying Elements: copper
Other Elements: lead


Face plate
XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Copper
Alloying Elements: copper
Other Elements: tin, lead, iron, antimony

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is green with areas of reddish brown. The object is distorted from burial and possibly from use. The proper left edge is preserved, but the right is partially lost. Other losses on the face are the result of corrosion. The circular hole (6 mm in diameter) on the left cheek is the result of damage rather than an original mounting hole.

The face was fabricated from a cold-worked sheet of bronze. The relief of the face was created from both sides using a repoussé technique. There is a seam on the back of the hollow column where the sheet that forms it overlaps c. 1 cm. The seam is leaded, and lead residue is present on c. 40% of the interior and in many areas of the exterior. It is unsightly and not likely to have been the result of original fabrication. It is possible that a modern heating of the object, possibly to anneal it for reshaping, is responsible for the spreading of the lead. The patterns of the lead on the interior do not appear to be related to any means of attachment to a substrate.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1920.

Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton
Accession Year
1920
Object Number
1920.44.186
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This enigmatic object is formed out of a thin sheet. The top is a hollow cylinder, open at the top and bottom. The seam of the cylinder, where the ends of the sheet are joined, is visible on the back. On one side, the cylinder ends with a large triangular sheet decorated with a repoussé face. On the front of the cylinder, just above the face, is a stylized, impressed floral design; a line curves outward on either side of a simple flower or bud, represented with a diamond shape above a line. The eyes of the face are raised, placed close together, with large circular impressed pupils. The nose has a thin bridge and wide circular nostrils. Most of the mouth is missing or obscured by corrosion. The puffed out right cheek is well preserved. There may be some indication of a chin.

Lisa M. Anderson

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