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Source Description
Neptune was the Roman god of the sea. Here, he is accompanied by a hippocamp, or sea horse, a mythological creature that was half horse and half fish, that he has grabbed by the tail. Originally, the god would have held a trident in his left hand. Neptune was often represented as a symbol of the Republic of Venice. Through the city's great port passed much of the trade between the lands of the eastern Mediterranean and Europe, so identifying with the Olympian ruler of the seas was a natural choice. This piece demonstrates the svelte anatomy preferred by many Venetian sculptors.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
16880
label
Neptune with a Seahorse
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
16880
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Neptune with a Seahorse
description
Neptune was the Roman god of the sea. Here, he is accompanied by a hippocamp, or sea horse, a mythological creature that was half horse and half fish, that he has grabbed by the tail. Originally, the god would have held a trident in his left hand. Neptune was often represented as a symbol of the Republic of Venice. Through the city's great port passed much of the trade between the lands of the eastern Mediterranean and Europe, so identifying with the Olympian ruler of the seas was a natural choice. This piece demonstrates the svelte anatomy preferred by many Venetian sculptors.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1590 (Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
statuettes (statues)
figurines
bronzes
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
43
height
13.8
depth
12
dimensionsRaw
H: 16 15/16 × W: 5 7/16 × D: 4 3/4 in. (43 × 13.8 × 12 cm)
Source extras
med
bronze
creator_ids
6200
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
184ad12e36eed714