Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1969.177.22
Title
Bracelet with Stylized Human Faces
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
bracelet
Date
8th-7th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Luristan (Iran)
Period
Iron Age III
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304134

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
9.2 cm (3 5/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 86.28; Sn, 13.46; Pb, less than 0.025; Zn, 0.007; Fe, 0.2; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.02; Sb, less than 0.02; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.007; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, zinc, iron
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is a mottled black, gray, green, red, beige, and brown. The surface is also concealed in part by what look like burial accretions. The metal surface is rough and uneven from corrosion pitting and is mineralized around the faces, especially the noses. A slightly concave, elongated gouge on one side exposes the bare metal. It has a series of parallel marks that look like file marks or perhaps grinder marks.

The bracelet is heavy, and its hollowed inner surface does not conform to its exterior. In one area of the underside, it has a more deeply hollowed recess, which may be the result of air trapped in the metal during casting. A thickening of metal is present in another area, which could correspond to a cast-in repair. The ends of the bracelet do not join. The decoration, which consists of a series of alternating bands of ridges and human faces, preserves the qualities of a direct lost-wax cast modeled over a core that was triangular in section; the noses especially exhibit the appearance of having been modeled in wax. The faces are all somewhat different. The eyes are indicated by small mounds of wax, some of which have been enhanced by pressing a circular punch to the wax. The bracelet must have been cast in one piece originally, but in its current condition it is a composite of four pieces that have been joined with adhesive materials, which look like resin or plastic. A fine wire is bent into a U-shape on the inside of one of the joins and embedded in the fill, probably to strengthen the join. The three join areas fluoresce green under ultraviolet illumination, but these materials seem to be carelessly painted over with another coating that does not fluoresce.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2011)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Harry J. Denberg, New York, NY (by 1969), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1969.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Harry J. Denberg
Accession Year
1969
Object Number
1969.177.22
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 bracelet almost forms a complete circle; there is a gap of 3.5 cm between the flat terminals, which are semicircular in section. It could easily have been slipped over the hand to be worn around the wrist. The underside is concave, perhaps in order to decrease the overall weight.

The outer, convex side is segmented into eight units delineated by raised, hatched double bands. A pair of opposed faces in relief decorates the two central segments. The two end segments also bear faces that are mirror images of one another. The top of each face is formed by the double bands, which could also represent the hairline and brows. The lower band on each extends down into a long aquiline nose. The eyes of each face consist of round discs set into large circular indentations. The lower sets of bands may cursorily represent lips, chins, beards, jewelry, or garment necklines. In the case of the central set of opposed faces, the lower bands are shared between the faces that they separate.

This cast two-part hoop is of a distinct type represented by lead, iron, and, most commonly, copper alloy examples (1). The type is distinguished not only by its form, but also by its geometric and figural relief imagery. In addition to human faces, a variety of creatures and animal heads are included in the figural repertoire. Unfortunately, no bracelets of this type have a secure provenience, but all known examples are reported to have come from Luristan. Their imagery, however, has strong stylistic affinities with figures on excavated objects from Luristan dated to the eighth to seventh centuries BCE (2).

NOTES:

1. See P. R. S. Moorey, Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, 1971) 218. For an example in iron, see O. W. Muscarella, Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1988) 168, no. 265.

2. For comparable faces on a figural pin from the Iron Age III site of Surkh Dum, see O. W. Muscarella, “Surkh Dum at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Mini-Report,” Journal of Field Archaeology 8 (1981): 327-59, esp. 339, no. 9; and id. 1988 (supra 1) 128, no. 199.


Amy Gansell

Exhibition History

  • The Art of Luristan, Plymouth State College, Plymouth, 10/04/1970 - 10/29/1970; Chapel Arts Center, Manchester, 11/08/1970 - 12/22/1970

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