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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.132
Title
Fragment of a Box Mirror Relief Depicting a Gigantomachy with Athena
Other Titles
Former Title: Cheek Piece from a Helmet with Relief of a Triton
Classification
Mirrors
Work Type
mirror cover
Date
early 4th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Classical period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/55414

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Repoussé
Dimensions
max. h. 14.1 x w. 9.5 x 0.1 cm (5 9/16 x 3 3/4 x 1/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron

Technical Observations: The patina is dark green with brown burial accretions. No red cuprite is visible, even where damage has exposed cross-sectional areas. However, the green corrosion products penetrate significantly below the surface in several places. A brittle fracture has resulted in many losses, especially at high points in the relief. There are a number of blind cracks present. The reverse has been coated and reinforced with modern adhesive and soil, which completely obscure the surface.

The high relief design was formed from a thin sheet of bronze by repoussé. Punch work and incised lines on the front surface added detail to the design. At least three rounded and lozenge-shaped punches were used, along with a variety of finer pointed tools. Incised lines were made by tracing a point tool at an angle across the surface with repeated hammer blows. About half of the periphery is a finished edge; the other half is fractured. The curvature of the back is sharper at the top section, indicating the relief may have fitted over the shoulder portion of a vessel or object of irregular shape.


Henry Lie (submitted 2011)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Christie's, New York, sale 9380, Lot 271, June 13, 2000], sold: to The Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University (2000-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.

Christie's catalogue note: Private collection acquiried in Europe in the 1920's.
Christie's Sale 9380, June 13, 2000, Lot 271.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
2012
Object Number
2012.1.132
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
This decorative relief is from the front of a mirror or the cheek piece of a helmet and depicts a scene from the Gigantomachy (1). It shows a bearded giant to the left, his scaly snake legs coiling below, with the snakehead of his right leg looking up, his muscular body frontal, and his arms raised above his head, preparing to hurl a boulder at Athena to his right. The light folds of Athena's drapery follow the curves of her legs; her chiton is cinched at the waist, and her aegis is clearly visible at her breast. Athena raises her right arm, and the remains of her tresses fall on her right shoulder. Her head and left arm and shoulder are lost. There is a rosette in the lower left corner pierced for attachment. The background is filled with small dots, and two small flowers are incised to the right of the giant.

The plate bears an extremely fine depiction of a section of the Gigantomachy (battle between gods and giants), which was a frequent motif in Greek art, particularly on large-scale sculptural works like temples and most notably on the Great Altar at Pergamon (2). Although this piece has been identified previously as a cheek piece, due to the shape, it compares well to other repoussé plaques that are still attached to mirror covers (3).

NOTES:

1. Compare D. B. Thompson, “Mater Caelaturae: Impressions from Ancient Metalwork,” Hesperia 8.3 (1939): 285-316, esp. 296, no. 9, which is described as the cheek-guard relief of a Giant, and depicts a youth lifting a bolder, as the giant does here. For a very similar piece, which has the same scene but with slightly different details of clothing, making it not likely to be the mate to Harvard’s example, see A. H. Smith, “Athene and Enceladus: A Bronze in the Museo Kircheriano,” Journal of Hellenic Studies 4 (1883): 90-95, there identified as a mirror relief.

2. See Die Antikensammlung: Altes Museum, Neues Museum, Pergamonmuseum (Darmstadt, 2012) 327-46.

3. See A. de Ridder, Catalogue des bronzes antique, Museé du Louvre (Paris, 1913) 48, no. 1712, pl. 79, for a relief with a similar shape that was initially identified as a mirror cover decoration and later suggested to be a cheek piece, even though no means of attachment to a helmet are visible. For relief plaques in the same shape as the Harvard piece that are still attached to their mirror covers, see H. B. Walters, Catalogue of the Bronzes in the British Museum: Greek, Roman and Etruscan (London, 1899) nos. 290-91.

Lisa M. Anderson

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