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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.7
Title
Mercury
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
1st century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Roman Imperial period, Middle
Culture
Graeco-Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303821

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
6.6 x 2.7 x 1.3 cm (2 5/8 x 1 1/16 x 1/2 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 72.17; Sn, 8.15; Pb, 19.44; Zn, 0.022; Fe, 0.05; Ni, 0.05; Ag, 0.04; Sb, 0.05; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.027; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is green. There is no evidence of deep corrosion, but the surface is reasonably convincing as that of an ancient piece. The lower right arm and foot are lost. The stub of the arm has been filed, revealing bright metal. Green spots in the pits on the bright metal indicate it was once corroded. The hole on the stub of the arm could be for a pin and arm restoration or may be a location where the metal was sampled.

The statuette is a solid cast. A mold could have been used to make the basic wax model, but the caduceus would have been created by working directly in the wax, and most of the modeled decoration was probably made directly in the wax. Some details on the head and caduceus appear to have been reinforced with punches after casting.

Henry Lie (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
1932.56.7
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
The small figurine of Mercury stands with his torso frontal and his head turned to his right. The body has a slight S-curve, with the right leg locked and the left slightly bent. Mercury is nude except for a winged cap (petasus) with a central spike on his short hair and a cloak (chlamys) clasped at his right shoulder and covering his left shoulder and arm. He carries a caduceus with a spiral handle in his left hand; his right arm is held away from his body, probably grasping a purse as is seen other examples of Mercury statuettes, such as 1932.56.8 and 1992.256.84. A small metal spur connecting the top of the caduceus to the back of the left shoulder may have helped to prevent breakage. The musculature is rendered naturally and in high detail, including a relatively muscular torso, navel, legs, and back. The figure is modeled completely in the round (1).

NOTES:

1. For similar statuettes of Mercury, see Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae Mercurius no. 43; Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, inv. nos. Fr. 1901 and Fr. 1906; 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) 222-23, no. GFV 41, fig. 170; K. Gschwantler, “Römische Bronzen aus Österreich. Neufunde und Nachträge seit 1967,” in The Antique Bronzes: Typology, Chronology, Authenticity. The Acta of the 16th International Congress of Antique Bronzes, Organised by The Romanian National History Museum, Bucharest, May 26th-31st, 2003, ed. C. Muşeţeanu (Bucharest 2004) 214, abb. 22; and M. Kunze, Meisterwerke antiker Bronzen und Metallarbeiten aus der Sammlung Borowski 1: Griechische und römische Bronzen (Ruhpolding and Mainz, 2007) 106-207, no. R 8 (inv. no. GR 214). Figurines of Mercury are relatively common in the Netherlands, see A. N. Zadoks-Josephus Jitta, W. J. T. Peters, and W. A. van Es, Roman Bronze Statuettes from the Netherlands 2: Statuettes Found South of the Limes (Groningen, 1969) and vol. 1, statuettes found north of the limes (1967) where the largest proportion of figurines represent Mercury (c. 30 in both volumes).

Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • George M. A. Hanfmann, Greek Art and Life, An Exhibition Catalogue, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1950), no. 22.
  • Susan Auth, Artisans of Ancient Rome: Production into Art, Minerva, The Newark Museum (Newark, NJ, 1997), Vol. 9(3), p. 10, no. 14.

Exhibition History

  • Greek Art and Life: From the Collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Private Lenders, Fogg Art Museum, 03/07/1950 - 04/15/1950
  • Artisans of Ancient Rome: Production into Art, The Newark Museum, 09/11/1997 - 12/31/1998

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