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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1949.79
Title
Sacrificing Woman
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
3rd-2nd century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Etruria
Period
Hellenistic period
Culture
Italic
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304068

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
8.9 x 4.5 x 0.5 cm (3 1/2 x 1 3/4 x 3/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze
Cu, 73.45; Sn, 8.02; Pb, 17.89; Zn, 0.006; Fe, less than 0.01; Ni, 0.06; Ag, 0.08; Sb, 0.2; As, 0.23; Bi, 0.039; Co, 0.023; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is a smooth dark green with light green in recessed areas. A crack is present on the proper left side, which was caused by a casting flaw, and the chin is missing. The surface is worn.

The statuette is a solid cast. Tool marks are preserved in the areas of low relief and were probably present in the wax model prior to casting.


Carol Snow and Nina Vinogradskaya (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Sangiorgi Gallery, Italy, (by 1931), sold; to Brummer Gallery, Inc., NY, 18 Aug. 1931, sold; to Walter C. Baker, 1 Mar. 1933 (Brummer inv. no. P8101).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mr. Walter C. Baker
Accession Year
1949
Object Number
1949.79
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 woman, rendered simply and stylistically, stands frontally, holding out a patera in her right hand and uncertain offerings in her left. The facial features are simple, with circular eyes, round cheeks, and a broad, flat nose; the lower half of her face is chipped off. Her hear is pulled back into a round bun. Some of her hair is visible in the front under her peaked crown or headdress. She wears a short-sleeved tunic (chiton), belted high under the bust, and a mantle (himation) draped around her waist, pulled up over her left shoulder, and tucked under her arm. In her outstretched right arm, she holds out a disc with a design in the center, representing a patera. Her left arm is represented as held in close to the body and covered by the mantle, with only the hand visible, bearing a pyxis or some other type of offering. Her left knee seems to be represented as slightly bent, and her shoes are partially visible coming out from under the front of the garment. At the bottom is a roughly square tang, as thick as the figurine, presumably used to secure it to a mount. The figurine is flat, but details of the hair and drapery are modeled on the back.

Figurines of this type are sometimes described as priestesses (1). Although the exact role of the woman is unclear, she is engaging in some type of religious activity, probably offering a libation from the patera in her hand. In a variation, these figurines often have their mantles pulled over the backs of their heads to indicate that they are involved in a ritual (2). Where findspots are known, these figurines come from sanctuaries (3).

NOTES:

1. There are a range of similar figures in D. K. Hill, Catalogue of Classical Bronze Sculpture in the Walters Art Gallery (Baltimore, 1949), 102-103, nos. 227-33, pl. 46, but the closest of these to the Harvard example is no. 227, inv. no. 54.1093. Hill notes that these are found in Italy and may date from the Etruscan to Roman periods. See also M. Bentz, Etruskische Votivbronzen des Hellenismus (Florence, 1992) 97, Group 16, figs. 138-39.

2. Hill 1949 (supra 1) nos. 228-33, pl. 46, and Bentz 1992 (supra 1) 94-96, Group 15, figs. 42-44, 68-69, and 126-36; and 100-101, Group 20, figs. 155-60. Compare also
2012.1.129, the togatus.

3. Bentz 1992 (supra 1).


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