Statuette of Ares (Mars)

Place of OriginLikely Italy

Date1st-2nd century CE

DimensionsL: 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm); W: 9/16 in. (1.4 cm); H: 2 11/16 in. (6.8 cm)

MediumBronze

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of the Popplestone Family

Object number

2006.98

Not on View

DescriptionA solid cast bronze statuette depicting a nude male figure standing in a contrapposto stance with the weight on the right leg and the left leg slightly bent at the knee. The figure wears a high-crested helmet which rests high on the forehead. The right arm is raised laterally at shoulder height, bent at the elbow, with the hand positioned as if to grasp a vertical shaft. The left arm is lowered and extended slightly away from the torso, with the hand cupped. The musculature of the torso, pectorals, and abdomen is modeled in relief. The surfaces exhibit minor casting flaws and abrasions, particularly on the posterior thighs and buttocks. The feet are roughly modeled, and the figure lacks an integral base.

Label TextThis small bronze depicts Mars, the Roman god of war, in a pose known as Mars Gradivus ("Mars the Marcher"). He is shown heroically nude, wearing only a crested helmet, ready for battle. Originally, his raised right hand would have held a spear and his lowered left hand a shield, attributes that were cast separately or have since been lost. Small statuettes like this were not made for public temples but for the home. A Roman family would have placed this figure in a lararium (household shrine) to honor Mars not just as a warrior, but as a protector of the family’s fields and health (Mars Pater).Published ReferencesFragments of Time, Catalogue XXVI, Medfield, MA, 2003, no. 43.