Hermes (Mercury). Rome, 1st century BC- 1st century AD.

Hermes (Mercury). Rome, 1st century BC- 1st century AD.
Bronze.
It belonged to the collection of Dr. Diaz Martos (years 60-70), author of the book "Roman Corinthian Capitals of Hispania".
Measurements: 21 cm. height.

We are before a bronze statuette representing Hermes (Mercury in its Roman equivalent), divinity of commerce, travelers and messages, but also liminar figure between worlds, protector of the roads and guide of the souls. The piece, fragmentary, corresponds to a Roman production of imperial times, inspired by classical Greek models of the V-IV centuries BC. The figure retains only one leg, but it is inferred that the original pose corresponded to a classical contrapposto, in line with the anatomical idealization inherited from the polychrome canon. The treatment of the body responds to the Greek naturalistic tradition, with attention to the harmonic proportions, the smoothness of the muscular transitions and the formal serenity of the face. The nude representation is typical of the Olympian divinities, although the body is partially veiled by a draped cloth that hangs from the left shoulder, falling in heavy folds on the side, and providing compositional dynamism and textile contrast against the smoothness of the naked body. On the head he wears the winged petasos, the characteristic cap associated with Hermes/Mercury, which together with the winged sandals (not preserved in this case), composed his usual iconography as a divine messenger. In the right hand, broken, a broken element is perceived from which an undefined form emerges, which could correspond to the caduceus (rod with intertwined snakes) or to a bag of coins, symbol of his protective facet of trade and material wealth. This type of object would probably have had an apotropaic or devotional function in a domestic or commercial context, and its scale suggests its use as a lararium figure (domestic altar), or as an ornament in spaces linked to transit or economic exchange, areas under the tutelage of Mercury.