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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.51
Title
Standing Female Figure of Spike Type
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Female Figure
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
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/310291

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
9.3 x 2.3 cm (3 11/16 x 7/8 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina is smooth brown with areas of thin black over thin red corrosion. The statuette is a solid cast and is remarkably well preserved. 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 lines in the cap were made after casting probably by chasing or stamping, without removing much, if any, metal.


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
1992.256.51
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
The figure consists of a pointed featureless body, its arms extended horizontally next to two small pellet breasts on the same level. The large head features a projecting nose flanked by round eyes, a short chin, and two rounded tabs projecting sideways from the head. The pointed crown on the head displays five pronounced horizontal grooves, perhaps incised after casting. The back of the figure is featureless.
This statuette is another variant of the pointed-body Late Bronze Age Levantine votive statuette.

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