Rod Tripod Stand

1 of 4

Artist
Name	Unknown
Basic Info
Period	Bronze Age, Late
Created in	Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Cyprus
Century	13th-12th century BCE
Culture	Cypriot
Dimensions	12 x 12 cm (4 3/4 x 4 3/4 in.)
Harvard Museum
Department	Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics
Division	Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact	am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Context

This tripod stand consists of a decorated ring supported by three legs, each with flat arched upper elements that taper into a rounded, cloven hoof. Round rods or struts attached at the back of each lower leg join at a central ring. Additional rods, connected to the sides of the lower legs, rise diagonally to the bottom of the ring between the legs where three pendants hung from small loops; two of the three pendants are missing. The lower element of the remaining bud-shaped pendant appears to have been broken off. The decoration on the ring consists of eight groups of double spirals placed end to end, set off on a smooth background and bordered above and below by a narrow, rounded band. The interior of the ring is smooth and undecorated. The exterior surfaces of the upper legs are also framed by narrow, rounded bands. 
 
The stand exhibits affinities with both the small cast stands and the rod tripod stands from Cyprus and is, consequently, an interesting hybrid example (1). It likely would have been used to support an open- or closed-shaped vessel.
 
NOTES:
 
1. See S. Hemingway and H. Lie, “A Copper Alloy Cypriot Tripod at the Harvard University Art Museums,” Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 103 (2007): 543-54, esp. 549-50, fig. 4.
 
Seán Hemingway

TechnicalDetails

Chemical Composition

Technical Observations

The patina is a heavy, obscuring layer of dark green with spots of light green and red. The broken surface on the bottom of the intact pendant indicates there is something missing at that location. The sideways tilt of the tripod appears to be the result of pressure during burial or an impact prior to burial. The repair at the rim is ancient. 
 
The tripod is a solid cast. The components were assembled in the wax model, and the stand was cast as a single unit without any joins after casting. An x-radiograph shows no evidence of metal joins, and the soft texture of the surfaces where components meet gives the appearance of work done in the soft wax to create joins in the model. For example, the legs continue under and then up the inner surface of the top ring section and appear to have been pushed against the inside of the top ring. These overlapping surfaces indicate soft wax manipulation; there would be no need for such a large contact area if joins had been made in the metal. The spiral relief of the main ring and the loop relief on each leg appear to have been formed by working rolled strings of wax directly and attaching them to the underlying wax surface. All of the components, which are relatively simple shapes, were probably made by forming them directly in the wax. A section (1.5 x 6 cm) on the top of the rim is a repair of a casting flaw made at the time of fabrication. It appears that a sheet of wax was applied over the flaw with little attempt to recreate the lost relief pattern. After re-investing the area, a cast-on repair was poured in metal to replace this wax.
 
Henry Lie (submitted 2003)

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, David M. Robinson Fund