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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1931.3
Title
Rein Ring with Mouflon Head and Two Confronted Felines
Classification
Riding Equipment
Work Type
ornament
Date
7th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Luristan (Iran)
Period
Iron Age II
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/312117

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
6.8 x 7.8 x 3 cm (2 11/16 x 3 1/16 x 1 3/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 88.85; Sn, 10.44; Pb, 0.07; Zn, 0.002; Fe, 0.04; Ni, 0.06; Ag, 0.02; Sb, 0.06; As, 0.44; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.017; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is green with underlying red. Much of the surface is covered with grayish burial accretions. The reign ring is intact. The surface is obscured overall by rough corrosion layers, but most of the relief features are readable. In several areas where the green corrosion layer has flaked off, a white metal is visible. The cast metal is a reddish-bronze color, as visible in the hole drilled for sampling, but the surface may have been enriched or clad in a secondary metal, such as tin.

The wax model for the rein ring appears to have had its components assembled in the wax by working directly. A bulge at the bottom of the ring, at the point where the ends of a wax rod were joined after creating the ring shape, may be due to the enlargement of this element. The felines are slightly concave on the reverse, and it is possible they were formed by pushing wax into a mold. Incised lines and other details may have been enhanced by cold working, but the condition of the surface makes this difficult to determine.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Private Collection, Boston, (by 1931), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1931.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Anonymous Gift
Accession Year
1931
Object Number
1931.3
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
The frontal head of a mouflon tops a central ring. The mouflon’s thick, hatched horns sweep broadly to either side of the ring, where they rest atop the heads of flanking felines. Portrayed in profile, the confronted animals clutch the ring with their paws. Rings with similar dimensions and imagery represent a sizable class of objects designated as Luristan (1). Distinguished by their looped tails, bound waists, and gaping jaws, the flanking felines are stylistically akin to animals represented on Luristan finials and other bronze objects (2).

The reverse of the object is unworked, and a horizontal loop is situated behind the mouflon’s head. Objects of this type are generally interpreted as reign rings, but no examples have been found from controlled archaeological contexts or in visual representations.

NOTES:

1. See J. A. H. Potratz, Luristanbronzen: Die einstmalige Sammlung Professor Sarre Berlin (Istanbul, 1968) nos. 81-93, pls. 17-19; J. Rickenbach, Magier mit Feuer und Erz: Bronzekunst der frühen Bergvölker in Luristan, Iran (Zurich, 1992) 104-11, nos. 77-84; and G. Zahlhaas, Luristan: Antike Bronzen aus dem Iran, Ausstellungskataloge der Archäologischen Staatssammlung 33 (Munich, 2002) 85-87, nos. 180-84.

2. See R. Merhav, A Glimpse into the Past: The Joseph Ternbach Collection (Jerusalem, 1981) 94-95; and P. R. S. Moorey, Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, 1971) 128-30, nos. 135-39, pls. 24-26; O. W. Muscarella, Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1988) 164-66, nos. 260-63; and Rickenbach (supra 1) 84-88, nos. 56-57 and 59.


Amy Gansell

Exhibition History

  • The Art of Luristan, Plymouth State College, Plymouth, 10/04/1970 - 10/29/1970; Chapel Arts Center, Manchester, 11/08/1970 - 12/22/1970

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