Bust of a Zeus Serapis

Greek

British Museum

late 1st Century

The bust, said to be from Alexandria, is in excellent condition with a fine, dark-green patination. The shape points to a date in the second half of the first century AD, but the head reproduces a sculptural type of the fourth century BC which has been plausibly attributed to Bryaxis, one of the artists who worked on the Mausoleum. The prototype represented Zeus, but, given its Egyptian provenance, this bronze is more likely to represent the Alexandrian deity Serapis, who is often iconographically indistinguishable from Zeus.

• Medium: bronze
• Dimensions: 19 cm
• Art Fund Grant: £1000 ( Total: £3,500)
• ArtFunded in: 1970
• Vendor: Robin Symes

Provenance

Mr Robin Symes

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