Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron, arsenic
Comments: The stand has a higer level of lead and arsenic than the pin or the standard.
K. Eremin, January 2014
XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron, silver, antimony, arsenic
Comments: The stand has a higer level of lead and arsenic than the pin or the standard.
K. Eremin, January 2014
Technical Observations: The patina is dark green and black with small areas of red. The surface is fairly well preserved, although layers of corrosion cover some areas and obscure details. The 3-mm hole above the head at the top appears to be a casting flaw.
The irregular shapes and fluid lines of many of the details indicate that the model was made directly in the wax. The wax would have been shaped over a central cylindrical core, which would have created the vertical hollow used to receive the pin joining the finial and support. The pin shaft is integral with the vase-shaped decoration at the top. The lower segment of the pin appears to be inserted into the column-shaped support, where it is now corroded in place. Most surface details were probably made in the wax model, but elongated punch marks along many areas of higher relief are slightly sharper and were probably made in the metal. The neck of one of the feline figures and the arm of the central figure on the opposite side show a soft juncture and gap, probably the result of metal flowing to this part of the mold from opposite directions and meeting but not coalescing. They give the impression of a cast-on repair but are the result of a single pour.
Henry Lie (submitted 2012)
