Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Mixed Copper Alloy
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, zinc
Other Elements: lead, iron, silver, antimony
Comments: The mount for the object is iron.
K. Eremin, January 2014
Technical Observations: The patina is dark brown with some very fine tan accretions on one side; these seem to be mostly blanched wax with some grains of sand. A fine, light blue layer covers much of the surface on one side only and appears to be a corrosion product associated with the waxy remains. A few small scratches reveal a metallic surface. There is no visible deep corrosion on the copper alloy piece.
The cast copper alloy animal is mounted to a piece of flattened, curved iron rod with iron pins; the iron rod and pins are rusting. A well-defined fine ridge that runs along the copper alloy base between the front and hind paws and all around the silhouette of the animal is a seam line resulting from the use of a two-piece mold. Whether the line relates to casting the wax model or the finished piece is unclear. Some very fine bubble-shaped accretions on the sides of the figure would have resulted from the use of a plaster-based mold to produce either the wax model or the metal cast. The details of the figure are very simplified and rounded with little definition, which suggests that there was little cold working.
Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012)
