1992.256.50: Standing Male Figure of Spike Type
SculptureIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1992.256.50
- Title
- Standing Male Figure of Spike Type
- Other Titles
- Alternate Title: Male Figure
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Work Type
- statuette, sculpture
- Date
- 14th-13th century BCE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
- Period
- Hittite Empire period
- Culture
- Syro-Hittite
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/310290
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Copper
- Technique
- Cast, lost-wax process
- Dimensions
- 7.5 x 2.8 x 1.5 cm (2 15/16 x 1 1/8 x 9/16 in.)
- Technical Details
-
Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper:
Cu, 97.97; Sn, 1.24; Pb, less than 0.025; Zn, 0.008; Fe, 0.45; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.01; Sb, less than 0.02; As, 0.27; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.029; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. RiedererTechnical Observations: The statuette is a solid cast. The lower portion of the body below the arms appears to have been worked by hot working, cold working, or both to form the pointed tip. The earring fragment in the left ear perforation was probably made by hot working a strip of metal. The figure is intact except for the bottom tip. The patina is light and dark green over 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
- 1992.256.50
- 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
This figure consists of a peg- or nail-like body tapering to a point, the tip of which is missing. Two short, pointed arms extend horizontally and slightly forward from the body. Otherwise, the body is featureless on the front and back. The lower part is rectangular in section. The head features a short beak-like nose with a horizontal groove below for a mouth and what appear to be two pellet-shaped eyes close to the bridge of the nose. Rounded lateral projections representing ears on either side of the head are perforated from front to back. Something, possibly the remnant of an earring, remains in the left perforation. The top of the head is a conical point, perhaps a cap, the front of which slants backward to the tip. Faint horizontal grooves decorate the front of the pointed head or cap.
This type of peg-shaped votive statuette is well known throughout the Levantine coast in the Late Bronze Age.
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