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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.28
Title
Ibex Pendant
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Small Goat Pendant
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pendant
Date
10th-8th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Luristan (Iran)
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304196

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
3.8 x 3.2 x 1.1 cm (1 1/2 x 1 1/4 x 7/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 91.73; Sn, 7.72; Pb, 0.16; Zn, 0.007; Fe, 0.05; Ni, 0.04; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.08; As, 0.19; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

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

Technical Observations: The patinas of these small goat pendants (170.1972, 174.1972, 176.1972, 177.1972, 187.1972, and 1992.256.28) are mostly green with black corrosion products; some have brown accretions. The rough corrosion products obscure some parts of their surfaces, but in other areas, the surfaces are well preserved. Small losses reveal significant deep mineralization.

The pendants were cast from wax models formed individually by hand. Where preserved, the surfaces appear very smooth and perhaps burnished. There may be some cold work finishing in the details of the necks and faces of some figures, but most of the surfaces are only smoothed and have no decoration.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Louise M. and George E. Bates, Camden, ME (by 1971-1992), gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1992.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Louise M. and George E. Bates
Accession Year
1992
Object Number
1992.256.28
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
This pendant is in the form of a simple stylized goat or ibex standing frontally. The goat has long, backward-curving horns, small raised bumps for eyes, and a small triangular head over a short neck, with two raised bands around it. A hole through the animal’s neck, under the two bands, allows suspension. The legs have hooves (unlike other examples), and the body is a simple, thin cylinder. The broad, nub-like tail points upward.

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

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