Sculpture
Mars
SculptureMetalworkMythology & Allegory
Details
- Author / creator
- Giambologna (Flemish, active Italy, 1529–1608)
- Object type
- Sculpture
- Date or period
- c. 1584–87
- Dimensions summary
- Overall: 39 × 18.4 cm; with base: 41.6 × 18.5 × 21.4 cm
- Primary material
- Bronze
- Place of origin
- Italy
- Acquisition method
- Purchase
- Credit line
- Purchased with the Art Fund grant and Friends of the Ashcombe Museum, 1964
About this object
Although he is lacking the helmet and armor common to Mars in Roman iconography, this figure is identified as the ancient god of war. Mars pauses mid-stride, swinging his sword arm back to strike an enemy in his gaze; this dynamic composition is typical of Giambologna’s models. Collectors prized small bronzes such as this and often kept them in special rooms along with antiquities, coins, shells, and other curiosities. Easy to hold and arrange due to their small size, they were appreciated through touch as well as sight.
Materials and technique
Bronze
