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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1952.17
Title
Woman in Pointed Cap
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
6th century BCE or modern
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Etruria
Period
Archaic period
Culture
Etruscan
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304020

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
11.43 cm (4 1/2 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 91.04; Sn, 6.55; Pb, 1.98; Zn, 0.017; Fe, 0.02; Ni, 0.04; Ag, 0.06; Sb, 0.08; As, 0.14; Bi, 0.052; Co, 0.013; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is dark green with areas of bare metal visible. Stress cracks from overworked metal are located around the hands, while the proper left hand is missing its thumb. The figure was cast and then cold worked to shape the hands, feet, and surface elements.


Carol Snow and Nina Vinogradskaya (submitted 2002)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Edward Jackson Holmes
Accession Year
1952
Object Number
1952.17
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
The cloaked figure stands frontally wearing a conical hairstyle and a long cloak. The figure wears her hair in a conical (tutulus) style that is rendered to look like a cap, with a bottom edge of her hair visible on the back of her head (1). The details of the face are unclear, but the figure has protruding almond-shaped eyes, a prominent and pointed chin, and a small, short nose that is rather high on her face. Her body is flat below the neck, with smooth, sloping shoulders. The figure appears to wear a long, seamless cloak, with sleeves ending at approximately the figure’s elbow, and the hem falling to above the figure’s pointed shoes. There are no internal details on the cloak, front or back, although some indications of shape of the body under the cloak around the arms, shoulders, and lower body are visible on the back. The figure’s hands are free of the cloak and separated from the body. The right hand is raised up and bent backward; the left hand, unnaturally long, is held low with palm out and arching toward the body. The figure wears shoes with long curling toes, probably representing calcei repandi (2). The feet are together, directly above the tang, with only the toes of the shoes separated. The authenticity of this piece is uncertain.

NOTES:

1. See L. Bonfante, Etruscan Dress, 2nd edn. (Baltimore, 2003) 75-76. Compare also A. Caravale, Museo Claudio Faina di Orvieto: Bronzetti votivi (Milan, 2003) 56-58, nos. 24-29; and more stylized examples like 1995.1141.

2. Bonfante 2003 (supra 1) 60-64.

Lisa M. Anderson

Exhibition History

  • Islamic Art: Drawings, Calligraphies and Objects, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 06/29/1983 - 09/25/1983

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