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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1977.216.1979
Title
Dish with Handle
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
4th-2nd century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Hellenistic period
Culture
Etruscan
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304022

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3400, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Greece in Black and Orange
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Hammered
Dimensions
7.5 x 17 x 30.3 cm (2 15/16 x 6 11/16 x 11 15/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 85.31; Sn, 13.9; Pb, 0.32; Zn, 0.029; Fe, 0.08; Ni, 0.05; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.07; As, 0.17; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.043; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The corrosion products have been electrolytically stripped from the surface and corrosion pits, leaving the surface of this vessel a bright brass-colored metal. Several pits contain a small amount of what could be original green corrosion products. There is a transparent oxide layer on the final three-quarters of the handle, which makes it appear redder than the rest of the object. The redder color of that section of the handle was probably caused by the cleaning process rather than a fabrication join or a difference in alloy. A brittle fracture surface on the tip of the decorative finial at the end of the handle indicates that part of this element has been lost. Holes on one side are the result of corrosion.

Hammer marks visible in raking light indicate the object was raised rather than cast. Circular abrasion marks on the inner and outer surfaces are the result of finishing the surface by turning. Fine repetitive indentations on the sides of the handle probably result from scraping these surfaces to smooth them. There is a slight bulge in the interior of the bowl in the area of the handle, but there is no evidence on the surface that a join exists at this location.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
1977
Object Number
1977.216.1979
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 bowl of this simple patera is hemispherical and undecorated (1). The integral handle is flat, rectangular in section, and possibly broken at the terminal, which forms an elongated S-shape. The width of the handle tapers away from the bowl and widens again toward the end.

NOTES:

1. For similar paterae, see M. P. Bini, G. Caramella, and S. Buccioli, I bronzi etruschi e romani, Materiali del Museo archeologico nazionale di Tarquinia 13 (Rome, 1995) 87-88 and 94-99, pls. 51-52; B. Borell, Statuetten, Gefässe und andere Gegenstände aus Metall, Katalog der Sammlung antiker Kleinkunst des Archäologischen Instituts der Universität Heidelberg 3.1 (Mainz, 1989) 74, no. 80, pl. 33; and J. M. Turfa, Catalogue of the Etruscan Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Philadelphia, 2005) 276, no. 307.


Lisa M. Anderson

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/03/2023 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

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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