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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1995.1148
Title
Whetstone Handle in the Form of an Ibex Head
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
10th-8th century BCE or modern
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Luristan (Iran)
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304286

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Mixed copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
15.9 x 2.2 cm (6 1/4 x 7/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: EMP analysis from sample, Mixed Copper Alloy:
Cu, 84.33; Sn, 3.48; Pb, 0.11; Zn, 9.37; Fe, 0.77; Ni, 0.23; Ag, 0.08; Sb, 0.10; As, 0.12


T. Richardson, June 1999

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Mixed Copper Alloy:
Cu, 65.72; Sn, 8.42; Pb, 6.84; Zn, 16.82; Fe, 0.7; Ni, 0.22; Ag, 0.23; Sb, 0.59; As, 0.45; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.009; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Mixed Copper Alloy
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead, zinc
Other Elements: iron, nickel, silver, antimony, arsenic
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The thin green patina lies over a very rough, etched surface. The object is stable.

The whetstone handle was cast as two halves and then joined together; a seam line is visible along the neck. Orange fluorescence was observed on more than half the surface under ultraviolet light. A sample of the surface was analyzed with FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). Atacamite, clay (earth), Prussian blue, indigo, and linseed oil were identified, indicating that the object has a modern pigmented layer. The method of construction and the superficial, probably modern patina point to modern manufacture.


Tracy Richardson and Henry Lie (submitted 1999, updated 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Nelson Goodman, Weston, MA, gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1995.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Nelson Goodman
Accession Year
1995
Object Number
1995.1148
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This whetstone finial is in the shape of the head, neck, and forelimbs of an ibex. The ibex has high, thin curving horns, with four raised bumps on the exterior top of each, that curve back to connect to the neck. Its pointed, leaf-shaped ears are separated from its head. The eyes are represented by a large raised circle with a slightly smaller raised circle for the iris with a smaller depression in the center for the pupil. It has a short, triangular beard under chin, which has a seam that gives it a forked appearance; there is no concavity under chin (in contrast to the other examples). There is a raised, ribbed area covering three-fourths of the neck, similar to the one on the breast. The molded forelimbs depicted on the socket are disproportionately small and spindly; the shoulders are ribbed, and there is a raised, ribbed boss on the animal’s breast. The socket does not flare toward the end. There are no holes in the socket for attachment to a whetstone, and the end of the socket seems to be as cast.

Publication History

  • Tracy Richardson, "A Technical Study of Luristan Bronzes From Ancient Iran" (thesis (certificate in conservation), Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, June 1999), Unpublished, pp. 1-15 passim
  • Susanne Ebbinghaus, ed., Ancient Bronzes through a Modern Lens: Introductory Essays on the Study of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes, Harvard Art Museum and Yale University Press (Cambridge, MA, 2014), p. 79

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

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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