Finely worked alabaster. The bearded god looks straight ahead, the narrow mouth slightly opened. The face is framed by a voluminous hairstyle and full beard. The hair falls in five broad strands on the forehead, at the sides it falls down in long, partly braided strands. On the head is a flattened area with a round recess for the modius, which was originally worked separately. The nose is bumped. Broken at the neck. Beautiful patina. Mounted on a base. Height 9 cm (with base 15 cm). As a syncretic cult with Egyptian and Greek features that originated in Alexandria, Serapis enjoyed widespread popularity in the Hellenistic and Roman Mediterranean, where he was equated with Zeus and Asclepius (on this aspect B. A. Martens, "Sarapis as healer in Roman Athens. Reconsidering the identity of Agora S 1068", in: Autopsy in Athens. Recent archaeological research on Athens and Attica, Oxford 2015, pp. 51 - 65).Provenance: Swedish private collection. Acquired on the German art market.Condition: II -