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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1969.177.38
Title
Bell
Other Titles
Former Title: Pendant
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pendant
Date
10th-7th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Iran
Period
Iron Age II-III
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304296

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
3.3 x 2 cm (1 5/16 x 13/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 91.81; Sn, 8.03; Pb, 0.04; Zn, 0.003; Fe, 0.05; Ni, 0.05; Ag, 0.01; Sb, less than 0.02; 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 a smooth black with remnants of green. Brown burial accretions are located on the interior. Most of the surface is worn from use and possibly from handling after excavation.

There are many irregularities in the shape, and the object was probably cast from a model made by working directly in wax. The missing segment is a casting flaw. Most of the surface is covered with crude abrasive marks from finishing the surface after casting.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

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
1969.177.38
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
Topped by a slightly irregular suspension loop, this openwork globe is formed by seven undecorated bars, one of which is incomplete due to a casting flaw or less likely a breakage, as the edges are smooth. As a bell, it would have contained rattle pellets. A round protrusion at the bottom is broken off roughly.

A variety of analogous bells, some with intact pellets and pomegranate calyx bottoms, are attributed to Luristan (1). Excavated examples are known from the northwestern Iranian sites of Hasanlu, Sialk B, and Marlik Tepe (2). Excavation contexts suggest that bells of this size belonged to horse trappings, while those of smaller dimensions may have been personal ornaments.

NOTES:

1. See A. Godard, Les Bronzes du Luristan, Ars Asiatica 17 (Paris, 1931) 68, no. 107, pl. 29; P. R. S. Moorey, Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, 1971) no. 155, pl. 28; O. W. Muscarella, Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1988) 274-75, no. 371; and N. Spear, Jr., A Treasury of Archaeological Bells (New York, 1978) 84 and 87, nos. 62-70 and 76-87.

2. See R. Ghirshman, Fouilles de Sialk près de Kashan, 1933, 1934, 1937 (Paris, 1938-39) pl. 25.6; Muscarella 1988 (supra 1) 67-68, nos. 97-101; E. O. Negahban, Marlik: The Complete Excavation Report, University Museum Monograph 87 (Philadelphia, 1996) 307, no. 943, pl. 136; M. De Schauensee and R. H. Dyson, Jr., “Hasanlu Horse Trappings and Assyrian Reliefs,” in Essays on Near Eastern Art and Archaeology in Honor of Charles Kyrle Wilkinson, eds. P. O. Harper and H. Pittman (New York, 1983) 59-77, esp. 71-72, fig. 19a; and I. J. Winter, A Decorated Breastplate Hasanlu, Iran: Type, Style, and Context of an Equestrian Ornament, University Museum Monograph 39 (Philadelphia, 1980) 46 and 55, figs. 4 and 13.

3. See Moorey 1971 (supra 1) 136-37 and 235, no. 433, pl. 66; and Muscarella 1988 (supra 1) 8 and 67-68.


Amy Gansell

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