A ROMAN MARBLE TORSO OF SYLVANUS

CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE TORSO OF SYLVANUS
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
Depicted standing with his weight on his right leg, nude but for a fruit-laden animal skin pinned at his right shoulder and extending across his torso, supported with his left hand, with well-defined musculature and pronounced iliac crests
17½ in. (44.4 cm.) high

Provenance

with Gawain McKinley, London, 1973.
Private Collection, Germany, acquired in the late 1970s-early 1980s.

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

Sylvanus was the native Italic god of the woodlands and agricultural fertility. His cult gained popularity in the 2nd century A.D., first under Hadrian, as Antinous was identified with the deity, and later under Antoninus Pius, who used images of the god to promote his agricultural policies. For a similar example see no. 31 in Nagy, "Silvanus," in LIMC.

More from Antiquities

View All