Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 88.44; Sn, 9.88; Pb, 1.43; Zn, 0.003; Fe, 0.09; Ni, 0.04; Ag, 0.05; Sb, 0.06; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.013; 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, calcium
Comments: Both the cylinder/pin and the main body were analyzed and found to have the same elements.
K. Eremin, January 2014
Chemical Composition: EMP analysis from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 90.00; Sn, 8.04; Pb, 0.47; Zn, 0.00; Fe, 0.05; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.03; As, 0.02
T. Richardson, June 1999
Technical Observations: The patina of the finial is green and light green with spots of red and black. There are also brown burial accretions. The central tube is broken at one end and partially lost. It has a patina and accretions identical to the finial.
As with the other Luristan finials, the irregular and fluid character of the design elements indicates direct work in the wax model. The wax would have been worked over a central cylindrical core, providing an open area for the tube or pin used to secure the finial to a support (see 2005.78.A-C). The decorative incisions were made in the wax model.
The felines’ tails are twisted from two tin rods of wax, and there are tool marks on the neck of one of the felines. The central tube is a roll of sheet bronze with an overlap of 2 mm, and no solder is present at this overlap. There are long striations or tool marks going down the tube under the corrosion layers. The sheet metal may have been filed down to 0.5 mm in thickness prior to being cut and rolled into a tube.
Henry Lie and Tracy Richardson (submitted 1999, updated 2012)
