CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE NEILOS
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
The river god reclining to his left, his right leg bent at the knee and crossing his left, wearing a mantle wrapped tightly around his legs, leaving his torso bare, leaning on a now-fragmentary jar from which issues the waters of the Nile, his left hand on the rim, his right arm extending along his side, a reed in his hand, his full beard and center-parted hair deeply drilled
40 in. (101.6 cm.) long

Provenance

Matteo De Paolis, Los Angeles, 1990s.
with Connoisseur Antiques, Los Angeles, circa 2000.
with Navona Antiques, Los Angeles.

Lot Essay

Neilos, the name given by the Greeks to the great river of Egypt, was considered the son of Okeanos and Tethys. He was personified as a bearded deity, usually shown reclining, very often with a sphinx supporting his left arm. In addition to the attribute of a reed, as seen on the present example, he is also shown holding a cornucopia. For a related version compare the colossal sculpture in the Museo Torlonia, Rome, no. 5 in Jentel, "Neilos," in LIMC. The subject was also popular on coins minted in Alexandria, as can be seen on a bronze from the reign of Trajan, no. 13 in Jentel, op. cit.

More from Antiquities

View All