Ancient Roman Bronze Solid. Figure of god Mars. 8,5 cm H.

Figure of Mars CULTURE: Roman Empire PERIOD: 1st - 2nd Century AD MATERIAL: Bronze DIMENSIONS: Height 8. 5 cm with out stand. PROVENANCE: A private collection, Madrid, acquired in the 1980s. CONDITION: Intact DESCRIPTION: Free-standing representation of the god Mars with the head slightly turned to the right. The right arm is held up in the air and the left is held away from the body. He is wearing armour and a helmet, symbols associated with this god. Mars was the son of Juno and Jupiter while transfigured as a flower. According to mythology, Juno fled Olympus and entered a temple dedicated to Flora. Here this goddess advised Juno to pick the most beautiful flower ever to be found from the fields of Olenia. This she did, but the flower in reality was Jupiter transformed. On picking it, Mars, the god of war, was born in her lap. For the Romans Mars was the god of war, and, as such, he was represented with arms and a helmet, ready to enter into combat. Originally he was the patron god of all the peoples of the Italian peninsula, be they farmers or warriors, a fact reflected in his double nature, in the same way as other Roman gods. Therefore he was he god of war and of the underworld, associated with the earth and with the spiritual and physical protection of the crops. He enjoyed immense popularity and was one of the gods most worshipped in Rome, only overtaken by Jupiter in popularity. In his representations we find a man armed with a helmet and a lance, and at times with a sword and shield. Sometimes he is depicted nude, at other times with warriors’ accoutrements, and even with a cape over his shoulders. Normally he is depicted as a clean-shaven young man but at other times he is a mature, bearded man. Sometimes he carries a baton of command. He may also carry a shield decorated with the head of Medusa. The technique of lost wax casting is a sculptural procedure using a mould made from a prototype of the piece to be worked, and this prototype is usually made from beeswax. This is covered with a thick layer of soft material, usually clay, which then solidifies. Once this has hardened it is put in a kiln where the wax inside melts and leaks out from expressly made holes in the clay. In its place molten metal is injected and this takes on the exact form of the mould. To remove the final piece the mould must be removed. The lararium was a small shrine in Roman houses in which the family members could place offerings on an altar and offer up prayers to the household gods. These were represented by statuettes called lares, mostly made of bronze. In patrician residences the lararium was in general found in the atrium, the central hall of the residence. In a simpler residence without an atrium, the shrine would be more or less in the kitchen near the central fire. Notes: - The piece includes authenticity certificate. - The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union) . - According to Spanish legislation, items sent outside the European Union are subject to export taxes and will be added to the invoice, at the buyer's expense. These export fees are fixed on the final auction price and the tax rate is not applied directly on the total value of the item to be exported, but rather the different percentages by sections are applied to it: - Up to 6,000 euros: 5%. - From 6. 001 to 60. 000 euros: 10%. This export permit application process can take between 1-2 months maximum. - The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.