Roman statuette of Mercury, c.2nd century AD
Bronze
Height: 12.7cm
11175
Charles Ede, London
Further images
The youthful, nude messenger god stands contrapposto, his left knee bent, the toes of his left foot lightly touching the ground behind him. In his right hand he holds a...
The youthful, nude messenger god stands contrapposto, his left knee bent, the toes of his left foot lightly touching the ground behind him. In his right hand he holds a money pouch with gripped fist, iterating his role as protector or merchants. His left arm is bent at the elbow to support the folds of the chlamys which falls elegantly from his left shoulder, where it is fastened with a large circular pin. A pair of wings with incised feathers on his ankles, and another pair adorning the petasos which partly covers his tousled hair. The god has the muscular physique of a young man, with pronounced iliac crest and ribcage, his nipples inlaid with copper. Mercury’s tilted head is turned slightly to the right whilst his serene gaze looks straight ahead. The surface has a brown-black patina with mottled patches of green and red.
A minute area of loss at the right heel. The tips of the fingers on the left hand, and the left wing on the petasos have broken away, the tip of the right wing on the petasos reattached.
A minute area of loss at the right heel. The tips of the fingers on the left hand, and the left wing on the petasos have broken away, the tip of the right wing on the petasos reattached.
Provenance
Sir Francis Cook (1817-1901), Baronet, 1st Viscount of Monserrate, Doughty House, Surrey, UKWyndham Francis Cook (1860-1905), 9 Cadogan Square, London, UK; by descent from the above
Humphrey W. Cook, London; then sold through Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 14th July 1925, lot 103
Spink & Son, London, UK; acquired from the above sale
Countess Mountbatten of Burma (1924-2017), Hampshire, UK
Sotheby's, London, UK, The Family Collection of the late Countess Mountbatten of Burma, 24th Mar 2021, lot 124
Literature
Compare H. Rolland, Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence (Paris, 1965), no.41. Also see Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, Vol.VI (Paris, 1930), p.29, no.5Publications
Cecil H. Smith and C. Amy Hutton, Catalogue of the Antiquities (Greek, Etruscan and Roman) in the Collection of the Late Wyndham Francis Cook, Esquire (London, 1908), pl.XXVII, no.21
Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, Vol.IV (Paris, 1910), p.94, no.1
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