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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.8
Title
Mercury
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
2nd-3rd century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Roman period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303822

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
4.4 x 5.7 x 1.6 cm (1 3/4 x 2 1/4 x 5/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 78.78; Sn, 6.81; Pb, 13.66; Zn, 0.214; Fe, 0.08; Ni, 0.03; Ag, 0.13; Sb, 0.3; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is a thin layer of an unidentified light brown material over a mottled, thick, powdery, light green corrosion layer, below which is a pitted surface that is worn down to dark green metal in some areas. No cuprite is visible. The surface has been badly affected by corrosion. The left wing of the petasus and the end of the right foot are missing.

This small figure is solid and was cast in one piece. The modeling is cursory and shallow. No tool marks are preserved in the worn surface. The slight recession on the underside of the base suggests that the wax model was cast upside down in a mold. There is no indication how the figure might have been mounted for display.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2001)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 1932.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894
Accession Year
1932
Object Number
1932.56.8
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This small representation of Mercury reclines on his left hip and arm. He appears to be nude except for a winged cap (petasus), of which one of the wings is broken, and a cloak (chlamys) over his left arm. Mercury turns his head forward and slightly down. Short locks of wavy hair are visible below the cap. His facial features are difficult to distinguish due to the condition of the surface. He reclines on his left side; his right hand rests on his hip, and his right leg is slightly raised with feet crossed at the ankles. The musculature on the torso appears naturalistic; the legs and arms are more simplified. The figurine is modeled in the round (1).

This piece likely served as a decorative applique on a piece of furniture or the rim of a vessel (2).

NOTES:

1. A similar reclining Mercury is in the National Museum of Serbia, Belgrade; see M. Veličković, Rimska sitna bronzana plastika u Narodnom muzeju = Petits bronzes figurés romains au Musée National, Antika 4 (Belgrade, 1972) 177, no. 113 [in Serbo-Croatian and French]; and A. Kaufmann-Heinimann, Götter und Lararien aus Augusta Raurica: Herstellung, Fundzusammenhänge und sakrale Funktion figürlicher Bronzen in einer römischen Stadt, Forschungen in Augst 26 (Augst, 1998) 103, no. 36. Another, which is as weathered as the Harvard piece, is known from Treviso; see Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae Mercurius no. 49.

2. Compare 1952.18 and 1955.120


Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), Artemis (Zürich, Switzerland, 1999), Vol. 5, Hermes 966b.

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu