1st century BC-2nd century AD. A carved marble bust of Jupiter (Zeus) with full beard and fillet to the brow; mounted on a custom-made stand. Cf. Rolland, H. Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965 item 11 for type. 3.2 kg, 28.5cm (11 1/4"). From an important English collection; acquired in the 1990s. Zeus (Roman Jupiter) was the supreme god of the Greeks and was the son of the primordial gods Kronos and Rhea. His name comes from the Indo-European word dei meaning 'to shine' and is cognate with the names of other sky-gods such as Jupiter. The origins of Zeus go back to Cretan and Mycenaean culture, and the sacred cave marking the place of his birth on the island of Crete has cult activity extending back to the early Bronze Age. Once he had grown to an adult Zeus hurls his father and the other Titans into Tartarus and shares world mastery with his brothers Poseidon and Hades. Zeus was married to Hera, though the god had many romantic liaisons with both other gods and mortals, the results of which were many of the heroes of Greek myth such as Herakles. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull and oak tree; it was at the oracle of Dodona that Zeus was believed to speak to the priestess through the rustling of the leaves on the sacred oak tree. Along with his functions as a sky-god, Zeus also figures as a god of weather, in which capacity his epithet is keraunos meaning 'lightning.' As katachthonios, meaning 'the subterranean one', he is associated with the underworld, and as meilichios, meaning 'the gentle one', he appears as a judge. He had pan-Hellenic significance as the guardian of freedom. His most famous shrine was at Olympia where he was depicted in a monumental gold and ivory statue made by Phidias, that would become one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Fine condition, usage wear.