Lot 44
Roman, Imperial period, ca. 2nd to 4th century CE. An exceptional marble sculpture of a seated male, likely Mercury - Greek Hermes - the god of commerce, shepherds, and travel, holding a lamb in his lap as the soft folds of a chlamys drape across his bare chest, cascading down the verso. He sits upon an articulated chair, perhaps intended as a throne, and places both hands on the body of the gentle animal who lays across his legs. A square niche with relief decoration is displayed below him on the verso, suggesting he was part of a larger decorative program. Known as the patron god of flocks, herds, and shepherds, numerous depictions of Mercury as a shepherd god carrying a lamb have been found throughout the Mediterranean world, as seen in this example. This iconography of Mercury as the "The Good Shepherd" had an influence on early Christianity, specifically in the description of Christ as "the Good Shepherd" in the Gospel of John. A remarkable example of Imperial Roman artistry and iconography! Size: 12.7" W x 18" H (32.3 cm x 45.7 cm); 20.25" H (51.4 cm) on included custom stand.
Mercury was one of the major Classical deities, the patron god of financial success and commerce, as well as eloquence and poetry. He was a trickster god, and he also acted as a psychopomp, leading souls to the underworld. Ovid wrote that Mercury carried Morpheus's dreams from the valley of Somnus to sleeping humans. For these reasons, he came to be seen as the "keeper of boundaries," forming a bridge between the upper and lower worlds. He also fulfilled that role by acting as a messenger for the other gods. According to Caesar, he was the most popular god in Britain and Gaul, where he was syncretized with the Germanic god Wotan and considered to be the inventor of all arts.
Marble statuary, reliefs, and cladding were ubiquitous in the Roman world, as the remains of the preserved cities at Herculaneum and Pompeii demonstrate. Their sculpture was intended to conjure human vitality, and was inspired by the works of Polykleitos, who became the model to which sculptors aspired in Greco-Roman as well as later Western European art. Greco-Roman statuary, unlike that of the other Mediterranean civilizations like Egypt, Persia, etc., celebrated the naturalistic human form. This included representations of their gods, like this one, who appear as if living people, dressed as if they are elite citizens. For example, the famous statue of Hades with Cerberus, his three-headed dog, today on display at the Archaeological Museum of Crete, has an extremely realistic quality despite its fantastical nature, down to the details on each dog head. This suggests an intriguing, more personal relationship with the gods rather than the more abstract or magical portrayals of other contemporary societies. This statue likely once featured as the centerpiece of an altar inside a temple, where cult statues of deities served as focal points for worship.
Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010
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#174718
- Condition: Fragment of a larger piece with losses to limbs and heads of figure and animal. Chipping to left arm and peripheries with expected surface wear as shown, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, very nice preservation of form and ample remaining detail.
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