A ROMAN BRONZE ARES OVERCOME BY EROTES

CIRCA MID TO LATE 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN BRONZE ARES OVERCOME BY EROTES
CIRCA MID TO LATE 2ND CENTURY A.D.
The god of war depicted nude and seated on a rock, his hair a mass of short curly locks, his left foot resting on the lunate integral plinth, his right foot extending beyond the base, his right arm outstretched, his left crossing over his body, with six swarming erotes disarming him, his shield held by an eros to his left at his feet, an eros on his right arm, one hanging over his left shoulder and reaching toward the god's chin, one eros seated atop his shield and reaching for Ares's arm, one eros to the right of the god's right hip, Ares grasping him by his wings, and one eros crouching on his knees at the base of the rock
3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Said to be from near Cordoba, Spain.
Swiss Private Collection.
with Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, 1995 (Art of the Ancient World, vol. VIII, part 2, no. 36).

Literature

J.J. Herrmann, "From Olympus to the Underworld, Ancient Bronzes from the John W. Kluge Collection," Minerva, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 41-42, fig. 9.

Exhibited

From Olympus to the Underworld, Ancient Bronzes from the John W. Kluge Collection, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, 26 March - 23 June 1996.

Lot Essay

Herrmann (op. cit., p. 41) calls this lively figural composition "an unprecedented treatment of a rare theme." Ares is literally being disarmed by love - his love for Venus, the goddess of love herself. The erotes are here physically removing his warrior attributes and stripping him down to his barest self - "an attack," Herrmann calls it, "by pangs of love."

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