Roman Marble Statuette of Cybele Enthroned
Roman Empire, circa 3rd Century A.D.
Measurements: 21.5 × 14 × 9 cm.
A finely carved marble statuette depicting the goddess Cybele, enthroned and flanked by her two emblematic lions. The goddess is shown seated frontally on a high-backed throne, her left leg drawn slightly back beneath the folds of her draped himation. The garments fall in deep, naturalistic folds across her lap, cascading in a series of sharp ridges to the plinth. Both arms rest on the sides of the throne, the right drawn back in a relaxed pose. The lions, carved in high relief with alert expressions and full manes, are positioned symmetrically at her feet, emphasising her role as Mistress of Wild Beasts. The head of the figure is now missing, yet the sculptural execution retains a commanding presence.
The iconography accords with the long-standing Greco-Roman representation of Cybele (Magna Mater), the Anatolian mother-goddess of fertility, mountains, and fortresses, whose cult was introduced to Rome in the late 3rd century B.C. and reached a zenith under the Empire. Enthroned with lions, she embodies sovereign authority and protective power, a form closely derived from earlier Hellenistic prototypes. Such statuettes may have served as domestic devotional images or votive dedications in her sanctuaries.
Provenance:
Private Bavarian collection, Germany, 1990s.
Anonymous sale; Gorny & Mosch, Munich, Kunst der Antike, 12 December 2012, lot 247 (unsold).
With Ariadne Galleries, New York and London.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 14 September 2015.
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