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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.59
Title
Male Figure of Spike Type
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Male 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/310293

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
8.4 x 3.9 cm (3 5/16 x 1 9/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Copper
Alloying Elements: copper
Other Elements: lead/arsenic, iron
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: This statuette is unusual in that its structure is hollow. It is possible that the core somehow corroded away. It is also possible that it is a hollow cast, perhaps by slush casting, whereby the molten metal is poured into a mold and poured out while still molten, leaving behind a thin wall of chilled metal to solidify against the mold. The heavily corroded condition and burial deposits suggest that it is indeed ancient.

The surface is predominantly black, with some green corrosion and tan burial deposits. The figure was previously repaired. It is missing its top, bottom, and proper right hand. Numerous holes allow a view inside where lumpy corrosion can be seen. The surface appears to be highly mineralized, with cuprite visible in section as the substrate and layers of green and black corrosion on top.


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
1992.256.59
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 statuette of rudimentary cruciform shape has a spike-shaped body. The left hand is slightly expanded at the end, perhaps representing a fist. The body is otherwise featureless. The head is oval and narrows into a point. There is a large pellet-shaped nose and what appears to be a horizontal groove representing a mouth just above the chin. Slight oval projections at the sides of the head represent ears. There may be a partial perforation in the right ear.
This crude spike-bodied figure with its large head clearly belongs to the large number of similar figures produced in costal Levantine workshops as votive statuettes during 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