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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1935.35.44
Title
Miniature Oinochoe
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pendant
Date
1st millennium BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Archaic period to Hellenistic
Culture
Graeco-Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304050

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
4.4 x 2.3 x 2.6 cm (1 3/4 x 7/8 x 1 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze
Cu, 80.38; Sn, 6.77; Pb, 12.45; Zn, 0.005; Fe, 0.17; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.05; Sb, 0.02; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.141; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The object is hollow and was cast in one piece from a wax model. The surface is covered with green and brown corrosion and gray and tan burial accretions, to the point that it is difficult to characterize its original appearance. The corrosion has worn through in a few areas to reveal a smooth, reddish-brown cupritic surface. One side of the pitcher has buckled inward and seems to be filled with a chartreuse-colored hard fill, the same material that fills the foot on the underside.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Bettina J. Kahnweiler, gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1935.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Miss Bettina J. Kahnweiler
Accession Year
1935
Object Number
1935.35.44
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 miniature vessel is in the shape of an oinochoe with a handle and flat bottom. The mouth is triangular; a cylindrical hole is visible at the top of the vase, which goes some way into the miniature vessel. The handle makes a high arch before attaching to the body of the vessel. It may have been a pendant, a miniature votive, or part of a larger, more elaborate bronze group (1).

NOTES:

1. Compare 2012.1.31, and M. Comstock and C. C. Vermeule, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Bronzes in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Greenwich, CT, 1971) 314, no. 440, although the vessel shape is longer, thinner, and has a smaller and more pronounced foot. The MFA catalogue indicates that similar vessels were used as votives, toys, or weights. Compare also S. Tassinari, La Vaisselle de bronze romaine et provinciale au Musée des Antiquités Nationales, Gallia Suppl. 39 (Paris, 1975) 62, no. 159, pl. 30 (provenance unknown, then in collection Courtot, inv. no. 415).


Lisa M. Anderson

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

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