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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.73
Title
Divinity on an Ibex
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
5th-4th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia
Period
Classical period
Culture
Italic
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/310298

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
5.2 x 4.2 x 3 cm (2 1/16 x 1 5/8 x 1 3/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 88.99; Sn, 6.7; Pb, 3.98; Zn, 0.014; Fe, 0.02; Ni, 0.04; Ag, 0.06; Sb, 0.07; As, 0.1; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.031; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron, arsenic

XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Leaded Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead
Other Elements: iron, nickel, silver, antimony, arsenic

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina consists of thin layers of black and brown. Small areas of red are present on the stag. The slightly pitted surface of the bronze and the thin, dark patina indicate the surfaces may have been electrolytically stripped of corrosion products. The red on the stag could be the only remaining original layer, and patches of a thin gray-green layer are all that remain on the rider.

The modern glue join between stag and rider is not perfectly matched and could point to a pastiche combining two unrelated elements. The patinas are similar but not identical.

Both pieces are solid lost-wax casts from models made directly in wax. The stripped surface is too poorly preserved to know the extent of any possible cold working.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

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
1992.256.73
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 is attached, perhaps in modern times, to a figurine of an ibex. Both are very schematic. The figure has a very large head, with a prominent brow connected to his nose. He has raised circular eyes and a raised area indicating the chin, but no clear mouth. He also has large C-shaped ears, perforated perhaps for earrings. The neck is very irregular. The body tapers toward the juncture with the ibex. The arms, sticking out horizontally from the sides, taper toward the ends, forming triangles.

The ibex has thick curving horns, although short, with a faint indication of ridges on the top. Its ears are large and cylindrical, and they stick out horizontally. The ibex has a bean-shaped head and raised globular eyes. The neck is short and slender, while the body is elongated and cylindrical. The legs are short and cylindrical; the tail is short, tapers toward the tip, and points upward.

In Italy, similar statuettes appear in groups in votive contexts of the fifth to fourth centuries BCE (1).

NOTES:

1. Compare M. Tombolani, Bronzi figurati etruschi italici paleoveneti e romani del Museo Provinciale di Torcello (Rome, 1981) 47-49; G. Zampieri, Il Museo Archeologico di Padova (Milan, 1994) 114-15 and 122-23, figs. 163.7-11, 165.5-8, and 176.25-29. Compare also slightly more well-formed examples from Sardinia in G. Liliu, Sculture della Sardegna nuragica (Cagliari, 1966) 387-93, nos. 188-90.

Lisa M. Anderson

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

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