Details

LOT 0173

Roman Bronze Jupiter Dolichenus Eagle on the Head of a Stag

2ND CENTURY A.D.

3 7/8 in. (5 7/8 in.) (544 grams, 97 mm (621 grams total, 15 cm high including stand)).

The eagle modelled in the round standing on top of a large head of a stag with curving antlers touching the bird's wings, the eagle with its legs held apart and its long talons spread across the head, the wings slightly raised and the head turned to the right whilst gazing down towards the stag; detailed plumage; accompanied by a custom-made display stand.

Provenance

Acquired in 1997 from a Canadian dealership.
From a North American gentleman's collection.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Literature

Cf. statuette in bronze of the same typology in Getty Museum, inventory no. 78.AC.336.

Footnotes

The motif of an eagle and a stag or a deer is typically associated with the God Jupiter/Zeus Dolichenus and his wife Juno Dolichena, name derived from his sanctuary in Doliche, Anatolia. Jupiter Dolichenus was a soldier god, usually portrayed wearing full military attire and standing on a bull, while his consort would have been shown standing on a deer or stag.