131 - Figure of Jupiter; Rome, 1st–2nd centuries A.D.

Figure of Jupiter; Rome, 1st–2nd centuries A.D. Cast bronze. Measurements: 6.6 x 3.3 x 1.5 cm. Provenance: Family legacy of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. Archaeological collection formed from the 1950s by successive generations of the family, through acquisitions in European galleries and auction houses. Roman bronze statuette in the style of the round, depicting the god Jupiter standing, facing forward. The god is depicted nude, crowned, and with a cloak draped over his left arm, which is raised and may originally have held a scepter or similar object. Jupiter is the central god of Roman mythology, father of gods and men. Son of Saturn and Ops, he was the supreme deity of the Capitoline Triad, which he formed with his wife Juno and his daughter Minerva. Equivalent to the Greek Zeus, his iconographic attributes are the eagle, the thunderbolt, and the scepter of command. His cult, likely of Sabine origin, was introduced to Rome by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, between the late 8th century B.C. and the early 7th century B.C. The largest temple in Rome, built on the Capitoline Hill, was dedicated to his worship, where he was venerated as “Iuppiter Optimus Maximus,” protector of the Roman city and state, from whom authority, laws, and social order emanate.