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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.86
Title
Horse Buckle
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
jewelry
Date
11th-12th century
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
Period
Byzantine period, Middle
Culture
Byzantine
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/311882

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Mixed copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
3.4 x 4.1 cm (1 5/16 x 1 5/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Mized Copper Alloy:
Cu, 76.62; Sn, 2.82; Pb, 6.82; Zn, 13.08; Fe, 0.2; Ni, 0.11; Ag, 0.08; Sb, 0.12; As, 0.15; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is black with orange-brown deposits. The object is intact, although worn. The attachment appears to have been cast in one piece by lost-wax casting with the designs created on the wax model before casting.


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
1992.256.86
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
This cast copper alloy buckle in the shape of a horse has two loops on the back by means of which a belt was attached. The tang protruding from the reverse would have locked into a second part of the buckle, now lost, or possibly into a notch in the belt. The horse is stout and round, its head disproportionately large in comparison to its body. Lines and dots around the horse’s neck and mid-section represent a harness and saddle. Protrusions from the head and back represent additional trappings.

Similar objects, sometimes identified as brooches, have been found in Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey), Beirut, and Antioch and are dated from the tenth to twelfth centuries (1).

NOTES:

1. Compare with unpublished examples at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, inv. nos. 1927.432, 1889.118, 1889.687, and 1927.429.


Alicia Walker

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