Statuette – Seated man figure

Class and production: sculpture/ statues

Subject: Seated man figure

Cultural context: Roman Empire

Date: Roman imperial period

Description

This statuette represents a young man, probably a mythological character. The iconography, which has a lot of variations, is that of Mercury resting but the absence of his own attributes such as caduceus (staff) and winged shoes suggests he could also be Hercules or Bacchus. He is shown in a seated position, following a last-hellenistic model which is related to Lysippus’s workshop works.

Materials and techniques: white marble with small-sized crystals/ sculpture

Dimensions: height 26 cm, lenght 15 cm

Provenance: Mantova Benavides Collection, Padua; Vallisneri Collection, Padua

University of Padua, Museum of Archaeological Sciences and Art

Cat. Number: MB116

Bibliography

• De Paoli Marcella, 23.Figura virile seduta, in Un Museo di Antichità nella Padova del Cinquecento. La raccolta di Marco Mantova Benavides all'Università di Padova, a cura di Irene Favaretto, Alessandra Menegazzi, Roma, Giorgio Bretschneider, 2013, pp. 46- 47.