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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1972.54
Title
Furniture Ornament with Bearded Head
Classification
Furniture
Work Type
attachment
Date
1st-2nd century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/311009

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
6.2 x 4.2 x 8.4 cm (2 7/16 x 1 5/8 x 3 5/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 82.9; Sn, 9.17; Pb, 7.51; Zn, 0.236; Fe, 0.03; Ni, 0.04; Ag, 0.05; Sb, 0.07; 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 dark green with areas of black. Some of the surface detail is obscured by corrosion products. Modern scratch marks in the beard are the result of cleaning. The loss behind the head predates burial.

Wax manipulation marks on the interior are evidence that the bronze was cast using an indirect process. Most or all of the surface detail appears to have been created on the wax model. There is some cold work around the eyes, such as the punch marks for the pupils. Although the eyes are deeply incised, they do not appear to have been designed to hold inlay. The loss at the top of the socket section behind the head may have included a hole for securing the object to its original mount; the loss itself could be the result of prying this fitting from the mount. The thin layer of black material on the inside and outside of the socket is mineralized metal, which appears to have been applied after the casting process and may have assisted in attaching the fitting to the original mount.


Henry Lie

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
J. Carlebach Gallery, NY; to Frederick M. Watkins, New Haven, CT, bequest; to the Fogg Museum, Harvard University, 1972.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year
1972
Object Number
1972.54
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The bearded head of this furniture fitting is surmounted by a diadem that is possibly part of a striated skullcap or merely surrounds the very stylized hair. The details of the face are executed in an archaistic manner. The large and almond-shaped eyes are deeply drilled and slightly uneven. The nose is large. The molded ears are in proportion to the head. Under the diadem, there are locks of hair at the temples. The facial hair includes a mustache with curled ends and a curled beard falling in two layers of locks; a small, triangular area of chin or another section of the beard is visible under the prominent lower lip. The beard has a clearly arched shape in profile. The square socket of this ornament, which is located behind the head, would likely have covered the end of a wooden beam on a piece of furniture (1).

NOTES:

1. Compare a furniture fitting in the British Museum, London, inv. no. 1967,1017.1 (EA67043); and a chariot socket decoration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 29.131.3s.


Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973), p. 82-83, no. 35.

Exhibition History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/1973 - 03/14/1973

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes
  • Roman Domestic Art

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