Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. An ancient cast bronze left arm from a figure, perhaps a cherub or child given the scale and fleshy quality of the fingers. Notice the carefully delineated digits and nailbeds of this naturalistically rendered left hand. In the Classical World, bronze was the preferred material for dedicatory sculpture. Due to its high tensile strength, bronze enabled a sculptor to create figures with impressive poses. Stone, on the other hand (no pun intended), presented more limitations. Unfortunately, though many bronze sculptures were created during antiquity, most have vanished with far fewer surviving in comparison to their marble counterparts, as bronze sculptures were frequently melted down, so that the bronze could be reused. Because of this, surviving Roman bronzes like this example are very special. Size: 7.875" H (20 cm); 9.25" H (23.5 cm) on included custom stand.
In addition, life-size or monumental statues were built via the lost-wax casting method and sections were soldered together to create the figure. Due to this production method, when statues fell during battle or natural disasters, these joins were weak points. Hence we have more bronze fragments than intact statues today.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
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#138428
Condition
A fragment from a larger statue. Detailing of fingers and nail beds is well preserved. Wonderful russet and green patina has developed over the ages.