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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2003.246
Title
Animal Plaque
Other Titles
Former Title: Ram
Classification
Plaques
Work Type
plaque
Date
1st millennium BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia
Culture
Central Asian?
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/72478

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
3.6 x 1.8 x 6.3 cm (1 7/16 x 11/16 x 2 1/2 in.)
Technical Details

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

Technical Observations: The patina is dark green with spots of red and blue. An underlying black surface is visible in many areas. The surface is slightly obscured by the green corrosion products.

The simple shapes appear to have been cut and formed directly in the sheet of wax that served as a model for the lost-wax casting. The reverse is flat, but the front has been smoothed into somewhat more three-dimensional shapes. The two loops were added to the back of the wax model before investing and casting. There may have been minor cold working to the feet and the incised line that runs vertically on the torso.


Henry Lie (submitted 2011)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Carol Hebb and Alan Feldbaum, gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 2003.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Carol Hebb and Alan Feldbaum
Accession Year
2003
Object Number
2003.246
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 simple, stylized animal would have been attached to something by means of the two loops on its back at the shoulders and the rump. The head of the animal is disproportionately small, with prominent curving ears or horns on the side of the head and a short snout (1). No features of the face are visible. The body narrows at the waist, where there is a thin vertical line, and expands at the rump, which is round and disproportionately large. The animal has a long, curling tail. The four legs are rather thick, narrowing at the ankles and again at the feet or hooves, which narrow to points.

NOTES:

1. Compare U. Jäger and S. Kansteiner, Ancient Metalwork from the Black Sea to China in the Borowski Collection (Ruhpolding, 2011) 142, no. 201, a carnivore plaque from the Caucasus, first millennium BCE.


Lisa M. Anderson

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