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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.43
Title
Standing Male Figure, Stylized Syro-Hittite type
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Standing Male Figure
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
15th-13th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
Period
Hittite Empire period
Culture
Syro-Hittite
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304197

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
13.6 x 3.3 x 3.2 cm (5 3/8 x 1 5/16 x 1 1/4 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper:
Cu, 98.68; Sn, less than 0.25; Pb, 0.09; Zn, 0.005; Fe, 0.32; Ni, 0.07; Ag, 0.03; Sb, less than 0.02; As, 0.8; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The solid-cast statuette shows no evidence of antiquity and appears to be a modern reproduction. It is intact with some casting flaws. The patina is brown with some areas of black.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

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
1992.256.43
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 statuette standing frontally has an elongated torso and separate legs that join just above the small projecting feet. Male genitalia are clearly rendered. Both arms curve forward horizontally from the shoulders. The fingers on the left fist were rendered in the cast. The right hand, which has stubby articulated fingers, is held open and palm up; in it is placed a small rectangular object that has a small projection at the outer end. The statuette’s large oval head sits atop an elongated neck and is dominated by a large vertical nose that descends from the eyebrows. The eyes are almost imperceptible raised oval areas. A horizontal groove beneath the nose serves as the mouth, which may have been incised after casting. A high, pointed spike-like headdress projects vertically from the top of the head. The front surface has been abraded.
This statuette is clearly a votive offering but differs from many other comparable pieces in that it holds an object in its extended right hand. Its general proportions and the prominent conical feature atop its head relate it both to the Syro-Hittite Levantine tradition and, to a lesser extent, to Hittite Empire statuettes. The conical headdress suggests that it may represent a deity. However, its charmingly awkward modeling reveals it to be a provincial product, perhaps best characterized as a piece of “folk art.”

David G. Mitten

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