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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1920.44.234
Title
Coil Bracelet with Thickened Terminations
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
bracelet
Date
10th-8th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Italic
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303967

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Hammered
Dimensions
h. 1.6 x diam. 5.6 x th. (of wire) 0.7 cm (5/8 x 2 3/16 x 1/4 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron, silver, antimony, arsenic

XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, zinc, iron, silver, antimony, arsenic

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is predominantly green with some darker greenish-gray and tan surface accretions. This bracelet was made in one piece. It is oval in section, perhaps as a result of hammering to bend it into shape. The surface is severely mineralized and has lost a lot of material, which makes it difficult to say much about its method of manufacture.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012)

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
1920.44.234
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
The bracelet has 1.5 coils, formed of a thick rod that flares slightly at each end, which is also flattened. It is quite different from the bent bar “bracelet” 1920.44.218. This type of coiled rod bracelet might be better described as a weight (1).

NOTES:

1. Compare A. M. Bietti Sestieri and E. Macnamara, Prehistoric Metal Artefacts from Italy (3500-720 BC) in the British Museum (London, 2007) 19 and 195, nos. 647-48.

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