Appliqué with Bust of Bearded God in Tunic (Zeus?)

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Appliqué with Bust of Bearded God in Tunic (Zeus?)

Place of OriginPossibly Greece, Turkey, or the Balkans

Date2nd - 1st century BCE

Dimensions5 1/2 × 4 × 1 1/2 in. (14 × 10.2 × 3.8 cm)

MediumSilver, parcel-gilt, in repoussé technique.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of an anonymous donor, by exchange

Object number

2009.17

Not on View

Collections

Sculpture

Published ReferencesAntiquities, sale no. 5951, Christie's, South Kensington, London, 28 April 2009, p. 80, lot 218.

Antiquities, sale no. 9599, Christie's, South Kensington, London, 13 May 2003, p. 150, lot 252.

Comparative ReferencesTrue, Marion, and Kenneth Hamma, eds., A Passion for Antiquities: Ancient Art from the Collection of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman, Malibu, Calif., The J. Paul Getty Museum in association with The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1994, esp. cat. no. 130, pp. 258-262 (bronze lebes, Ariel Herrmann).

Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli, Lucia, L'Argento dei Romani: Vasellame da Tavola e d'Apparato, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1991, esp. cat. no. 37 (Boscoreale Treasure [Augustan] shallow cup with high relief bust of Africa, Paris, Louvre, inv. BJ 1969), cat. no. 91 (Hildesheim Treasure [Augustan] large cup with high relief emblema of Athena, Berlin inv. nr. 3779,1), cat. no. 104 (Berthouville Treasure [Claudian] Beaker with Isthmian Games, with high relief seated Zeus, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Cabinet des Medailles), and fig. 161, detail of Boscoreale, Villa of P. Fannius Synistor, fresco of large silver situla with applied satyr mask (Naples, MANN inv. 9965).

Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli, Lucia, ed., Il Bronzo dei Romani: Arredo e Suppellettile, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1990.

Barr-Sharrar, Beryl, The Hellenistic and Early Imperial Decorative Bust, Mainz am Rhein, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1987, esp. Chapter VI "The Decorative Bust: Hammered," pp. 115-153.

Label TextThis Hellenistic silver bust likely represents Zeus, as indicated by the beard, thick curls, and laurel wreath. The repoussé technique, in which metal is shaped from the reverse, allowed for fine details, while chased gilding accentuated the hair and clothing. Such busts were often decorative appliqués, embellishing luxury vessels, thrones, or furniture. High-status patrons in the late Hellenistic and early Roman periods commissioned precious metal sculptures reflecting both Greek artistic traditions and Roman tastes for opulence. The motif of a figure emerging from foliage is well attested across the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, where it often symbolized divine authority over fertility, nature, and renewal. Originating in Egyptian and Near Eastern art, where tutelary deities and genii were depicted growing from plants, the imagery spread to Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Asia Minor, and beyond. While most commonly associated with nature deities, nymphs, and Dionysian figures, it also appears in later religious and imperial contexts, emphasizing the fusion of divinity and the natural world.