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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2023.501.40
Title
Double-Headed Rooster Pendant
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pendant
Date
10th-8th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Luristan (Iran)
Find Spot: Middle East, Iran, Western Iran
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303901

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper-tin-antimony alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
4.5 x 4.8 x 2.6 cm (1 3/4 x 1 7/8 x 1 1/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Mixed Copper Alloy
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, antimony
Other Elements: lead, iron, nickel, silver, arsenic
Comments: The antimony is lower than in other mixed copper-tin-antimony alloys.

K. Eremin, January 2014

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper-Tin-Antimony alloy:
Cu, 88.29; Sn, 5.56; Pb, 0.24; Zn, 0.006; Fe, 0.04; Ni, 0.08; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 5.29; As, 0.41; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.051; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The surface of the object is worn and covered with green corrosion products and some burial accretions, which are noticeably thicker in the hollow underside of the body. The underside may not have been cleaned, making it difficult to characterize the original surface decoration. The corrosion has flaked off in a few areas, exposing cupritic red and brown metal.

The object was cast in one piece by the lost-wax process. The body of the rooster is hollow. The wax was modeled hollow and then filled with core material, as indicated by the shape of the hollow of the body as well as the small lip of excess metal on the underside of the body where the tail was joined to the body in the wax. All the surface details were probably fashioned in the wax and then chased in the metal.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Kurt H. Weil, Montclair, NJ (1927-1992), by descent; to Kathleen Weil-Garris Brandt, New York (1992-2023), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Professor Kathleen Weil-Garris Brandt
Accession Year
2023
Object Number
2023.501.40
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Objects

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