ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art

Statuette of Hermanubis

AAT Object Form/Functionstatuettes (free-standing sculpture)

Possible OriginAlexandria, Egypt, Africa

CultureRoman

PeriodImperial

Datelate 2nd Century CE

MediumBronze

Credit LineCarlos Collection of Ancient Art

Dimensions20 x 8 1/4 x 4 1/8 in. (50.8 x 21 x 10.5 cm)

Object number1999.011.004

Label TextClothing and posture identify this figure as Hermanubis, a Greco-Egyptian deity who combines the essences of the Greek god Hermes with the Egyptian Anubis. The syncretism of Hermes and Anubis arises from the function of both deities to guide souls to the Underworld. Distinctive in the clothing of Hermanubis is a garment that wraps around the waist with a roll of cloth, with one end falling over the left shoulder. In his left hand he may have held a palm branch, while in his right the caduceus (herald's staff) of Hermes. On his head he wears the modius, a cone-like headdress.

Key elements in the portraiture of Alexander the Great are also present on this statuette, in particular the thick, almost shoulder-length leonine hair, and the soft, idealized youthfulness. Alexander's physical traits were often used in the Hellenistic and Roman periods for representations of the gods.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - June 24, 2013
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, October 28, 2013 - July 11, 2016
Roman Myth and Myth-Making, Jundt Art Museum, Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington, September 17, 2016 - December 17, 2016
MCCM Permanant Collection Galleries, February 6, 2017 - February 17, 2021
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, February 7, 2023 - March 14, 2023
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 2, 2023 - Present
Published ReferencesMunzen und Medaillen A.G., Basel, Auktion XVIII: Kunstwerke der Antike (November 29, 1958), 12, lot 29.
Sotheby's New York, Antiquities and Islamic Works of Art (June 5, 1999), 102-103, lot 149.
MCCM Newsletter, March - May 2000.
Jasper Gaunt, "New Galleries of Greek & Roman Art at Emory University: The Michael C. Carlos Museum," Minerva 16 (2005): 13-17.

ProvenanceWith Munzen und Medaillen A.G., November 29, 1958, lot 29. Ex coll. Ian Woodner (1903-1990), New York, New York. Purchased by MCCM from Sotheby's New York, sale 7323, June 5, 1999, lot 149.

Status

On view

Collections