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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2004.197
Title
Straight Pin
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pin
Date
10th-8th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Luristan (Iran)
Period
Iron Age
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/52811

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
18.3 cm (7 3/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron, antimony, arsenic
K. Eremin, January 2014

XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron, antimony
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patinas of these pins (162.1972, 163.1972, 165.1972, 166.1972, and 2004.197) are green or dark green with areas of red. Some burial accretions are present, as are striations and some abrasion marks from cleaning.

Although there is no evidence of mold marks, it is likely that the wax models for these pins were made using a mold to create the spherical finials and the shaft of the pin. The finer incised lines appear soft in shape and were made working directly in the wax models. The ring loop on 163.1972 appears as a soft-shaped circle, probably formed by hand and attached to the wax model. Although the tapered length of the shafts could have been entirely cast in the bronze, it is possible that the taper was refined by hammering in the metal casts.


Henry Lie (submitted 2011)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
From the collection of Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Benjamin and Lilian Hertzberg
Accession Year
2004
Object Number
2004.197
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Objects

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