A ROMAN MARBLE MERCURY

CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE MERCURY
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
The god depicted nude but for a mantle fastened over his left shoulder with a circular brooch adorned with a rosette, the drapery gathered at his shoulder and hanging down along his side, enveloping his left forearm, standing in contrapposto with his weight on his right leg, the left slightly advanced, his right arm originally lowered, perhaps once holding a money bag, originally holding a caduceus in his left hand, a tree stump support along the proper right side, his head angled forward and to the right
24 3/8 in. (61.9 cm.) high

Provenance

Private Collection, Norfolk, England, since the 19th century.

Lot Essay

This figure of Mercury is inspired by a Greek original of the late 5th century B.C. The style is essentially Polykleitan, although the musculature of this figure is more youthful. Closest is the marble figure from Troizen, now in the National Archeological Museum, Athens, and the Lansdowne Hermes now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, nos. and 298 and 943 in Siebert, "Hermes" in LIMC, vol. V. Both are thought to be Roman copies of an original attributed to the sculptor Naukydes, from the School of Polykleitos.

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