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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1920.44.249
Title
Handle with Satyr Mask Attachment Plate
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
handle
Date
1st-mid 3rd century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303985

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
7.5 x 2.2 x 1.1 cm (2 15/16 x 7/8 x 7/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 75.6; Sn, 3.79; Pb, 20.5; Zn, 0.012; Fe, 0.01; Ni, 0.01; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.06; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is green with a raised layer of brown. A small section from the tip of the beard is lost.

The handle is a solid cast. Its wax model was probably cast from a mold, which provided all the decorative detail. Some detail in the hair may have been enhanced directly in the wax model. A small spot of lead on the top attachment surface would have assisted in binding the handle to the vessel.


Henry Lie (submitted 2002)

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
1920.44.249
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 small, slender handle, probably one of a pair of handles attached to a copper alloy vessel, ends in a male face (1). The handle flares at the top where it would have connected to the vessel and is D-shaped in section. Its curve, in profile, is an elongated knee-shape. The handle tapers to the base, with a raised section above the face. The face is broad and flat. Locks of hair are rendered over arched brows, close-set eyes, a short broad nose, and a wide mouth. Facial hair or perhaps jowls are indicated. The tall pointed ears on each side indicate the face is a satyr. Below the mouth, the face ends in a fairly straight line at a break.

NOTES:

1. For a handle of similar form and size, also having a mask-shaped lower terminal, see B. Bienert, Die römischen Bronzegefässe im Rheinischen Landesmuseum Trier, Trierer Zeitschrift 31 (Trier, 2007) 17-18, no. 4. For the type of vessel to which it would have attached, see ibid., 16-18, nos. 2-3 and 5; and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 27.122.7.


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