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Details
LOT 0700
Roman Herm of the God Hermes
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
6 1/4 in. (110 grams, 16 cm).
A bronze herm lock element representing the god Hermes, with a stylised and beardless face, long hair descending with two parallel lines on the chest with engraved stylised caduceus, finial with a plinth and a squared pin to the reverse.
Provenance
Acquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
Literature
Cf. a very similar Herma in the Museum of Fine Art Budapest, inventory no.93.19.A.
Footnotes
This miniature herm, with a stylised caduceus engraved on the breast, possibly represents the god Hermes. It could have been used as a lock for a casket or a box where money was kept. Hermes was the protector of homes, symbolised by the Herma (from Hermes), a square or rectangular pillar of stone or bronze topped by a bust of the god.
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