HYPNOS, GOD OF SLEEP necklace pendant (vertical option)

RAW BRONZE usually ship in 1-2 days. All other materials may take up to two weeks.

FOR DELIVERY OUTSIDE U.S.: Please contact me before placing an order.

This pendant is an extremely accurate 3D laser-scanned, 3D printed, and hand-cast reduction of the British Museum's first-or-second century AD bronze "Head of Hypnos."

The piece’s odd asymmetry, its vacant eyes, and single wing—and the broken, missing wing—and its ambiguous gender make for a remarkable artifact of other-worldliness which has spoken to people across time.

In 1909, when he was on his way back from a tour of Syria, T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") passed through Naples and wrote a friend "The bronzes in the Naples museum are beyond words." He paid a Neapolitan bronze foundry eight francs for a flawed freehand copy of the same bronze now in the British Museum. Lawrence loved his Hypnos copy, writing "nothing, not even the dawn--can disturb me in my curtains: only the slow crumblings of the coals in the fire: they get so red & throw such splendid glimmerings on the Hypnos." Lawrence also wrote "I would rather possess a fine piece of sculpture than anything in the world."

There's no record of what happened to Lawrence's Hypnos copy, but in 2013 I 3D laser-scanned a high fidelity cast of the original Hypnos head at the Skulpturhalle plaster cast museum in Basel, Switzerland. I’ve now prepared the resulting 3D data—the first of its kind—for 3D printing wax patterns which are then hand cast in a variety of precious and semi-precious metals in the traditional lost-wax casting method.

Now you can wear this timeless sculpture as a necklace, in a variety of materials.

MATERIALS: Available in gold, silver, bronze, and platinum.

FINISHES: All my designs have very fine details. The "raw" finish shows all the most intricate features, and has a very fine-grained texture that creates a subtle satin finish. It's bright and pretty, and on silver it creates an unusual luminous effect. The "polished" and plated options are smooth and are nearly a mirror finish; the very finest details are slightly softened in the polishing process. The "steel-bronze" material is slightly less detailed, but has a distinct grain texture, especially in recessed areas, that creates a highlighted effect.

PRODUCTION TIME: This pendant takes me around 12 days to produce before I can ship it to you. Sometimes I can get them done faster, and occasionally I have some pieces in stock. If you need something quickly, please contact me before placing an order and I can let you know what's possible.

MATERIAL CARE & HANDLING: Materials other than gold and platinum may tarnish, but can be polished bright again with a soft cloth.

STEEL-BRONZE ALLOY: There is color and sheen variation from piece to piece in the steel-bronze alloy. This material will oxidize, but can be buffed with a soft cloth or even fine sandpaper to make bright again and bring out highlights.