Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Mixed Copper Alloy:
Cu, 77.91; Sn, 5.27; Pb, 4.38; Zn, 10.59; Fe, 1.07; Ni, 0.14; Ag, 0.08; Sb, 0.39; As, 0.17; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.006; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, 0.002
J. Riederer
Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Mixed Copper Alloy
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead, zinc
Other Elements: iron, silver, antimony, arsenic
K. Eremin, January 2014
Technical Observations: 1955.122 was cast from a bivalve mold and is only roughly finished, exhibiting crude workmanship. There is a hole in the bottom of the left foot for attachment to a base. The patina is brown with faint green coloration in places.
The cast figurines were both made in a two-part mold. On each, a seam that goes around the sides of the body, arms, legs, and head has been filed smooth in the bronze in an attempt to hide it. The filing is particularly crude in 1955.122, and this fact, along with the lack of a burial patina and a perfectly preserved surface, makes this bronze questionable as an antiquity.
1977.216.3418 is more carefully finished in the bronze along the seam, although there are deep striations from finishing the surface elsewhere. Unlike the other casting, the surface does show some signs of wear and age.
The heads of the two figurines are very similar in shape, size, and expression. They could be related to each other or derived from a single source, but they are not so similar that a direct connection due to mold-making procedures can be demonstrated clearly.
Henry Lie (submitted 2001)
