2nd century AD. A bronze statuette of Mercury (Greek Hermes) standing, wearing the winged petasos cap; the eyes with incised pupils; almost entirely naked, torso well-modelled, rib cage and inguinal furrows stylised; leaning on both legs; wearing a cloak draped over the right shoulder by a round fibula, the long folds falling in front and behind, up to mid-calf, completely concealing the left arm; the right arm, hanging down and carried forward, held a purse; mounted on its original pedestal, a silver torque around his neck. Cf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 43ff, for similar figure. 37.6 grams, 59mm (2 1/4"). Property of a London gentleman; from his private collection formed before 2000. This statue is one of several Roman replicas of a lost original which must have been regarded as a work of importance, and was reproduced in several samples for domestic or votive use. The silver ring around the neck can be symbol of passage from the status of servus (slave) to that of libertus (freeman), where the slave collar is now dedicated in a fictitious way to the god who had made the man free. [No Reserve]