Roman Bronze Statuette of Hermes

2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

4 in. (100 grams total, 10 cm including stand).

Standing nude with left leg bent, arms extended, mantle draped from the right shoulder, hair combed forward from the crown; mounted on a custom-made stand. [No Reserve]

Provenance

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Literature

Cf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 38, for type.

Footnotes

Despite the lack of specific attributes related to Hermes, the pose of the statue, with the right hand advanced to hold the sacculus, the cloak thrown over the right shoulder and then folded over the left would lean towards an interpretation of the statuette as an ex voto related to the god of thieves. The statuette seems to originate from a Gallo-Roman workshop. A similar drapery on the chest is also found on a Mercury/Hermes in the Museum of Besancon.

CONDITION

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LOT 0195