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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1969.177.17
Title
Bowl with Curled Handle
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
Modern
Places
Creation Place: Unidentified Region
Period
Modern
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304185

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Brass
Dimensions
h. 6.2 x d. 12 x diam. 10.5 cm (2 7/16 x 4 3/4 x 4 1/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Brass
Alloying Elements: copper, zinc
Other Elements: lead, iron, arsenic, calcium, barium, strontium
Comments: The high calcium, barium, and strontium are unusual and may indicate a false (painted) surface.

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is green with some sand inclusions; it is entirely modern paint. There is no evidence of corrosion or long-term burial. The surface is extremely well preserved and probably modern. The cast or extruded handle is lead soldered to the bowl. The bowl, which is very thin and uniform, could have been produced using the modern process of “spinning.” The rim is a separate overlapping component, probably soldered to the lower section of the bowl.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

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
1969.177.17
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 bowl, a replica of a find from Pompeii, has only one handle. The circular-sectioned fluted handle arches up from the bottom of the bowl and then curls down into four coils of two big loops with two smaller loops between them. The coils are not attached to the rim of the bowl. The ends of the handle are separately attached to the base.

The bowl has a small raised circle on the bottom for a foot. The bowl is low and flat, with a beveled profile. The lip of the bowl angles back in toward the center and then rises up. There are concentric-circle marks on the interior of the bowl, but it is otherwise undecorated.

The bowl itself is not an exact replica of the original, although the handle is very similar (1).

NOTES:

1. See S. Tassinari, Il vasellame bronzo di Pompei (Rome, 1993) type M1332. Compare type M1331 with two handles. See also L. Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli, ed., Il bronzo dei Romani: Arredo e suppellettile (Rome, 1990) 109, fig. 57 (which reprints Museo Borbonico 6 (1860) pl. 62).


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