Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 78.45; Sn, 6.99; Pb, 14.38; Zn, 0.022; Fe, 0.01; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.05; Sb, 0.07; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer
Technical Observations: The patina is brown with slightly raised mottled areas of red and green corrosion products. Two large lacunae—one encompassing her proper left arm, part of her ribs, and part of her back; the other including part of her proper right buttock and thigh—are probably due to the excessively thin walls of the cast, which must have cracked and broken under pressure. Several other cracks are visible across the abdomen, her thighs, and the back of the left buttock. The dents on the back of her right calf suggest that the limbs were finely cast as well.
This lightweight, hollow Venus was cast in one piece. The statuette is very cursorily modeled and chased, and the details appear to be rounded as if from wear. Coarse file marks are visible along the edge of the lacuna on her back and on the bottoms of her feet. The underside of her right hand appears too flattened and simplified to be the result of indirect molding. Faint ridges on the inside of her lower legs appear to be the remains of piece-mold seams. The inner surface, which might preserve evidence of how the core or wax model were formed, is covered with corrosion products, white powdery core material, and perhaps the remains of cast-on repairs. A raised, flat, round feature (c. 3 mm in diameter) on the front of her right shoulder seems to extend like a pin through the metal into the inner cavity. It appears to be made of a copper alloy as well and may be a plug that was pushed up over time. Another rounded flat feature at the height of her diaphragm may also be such a pin. Small traces of lead solder on the bottom of the left foot suggest that the piece was soldered to a base.
Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2001)
