Lar
AD 1–25
Maker Unknown
Greek and Roman Art
Lar, AD 1–25. Italy, Rome, Early Imperial period. Bronze with copper inlays; overall: 14.5 cm (5 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1987.3 This youthful bronze figure wears a short tunic with copper inlaid stripes and open-toed boots with animal-skin liners. The figure’s arms are missing, but based on other surviving examples, they likely held a libation dish and cornucopia. Even without these attributes, the figure can be identified through dress and stance as a type of Lar, or domestic deity, known as the Lar Familiaris (Household Lar), standing in a characteristic "quiet pose." Other types of Lares include the Lares Compitales and Lares Augusti (Lares of crossroads and of Augustus, respectively). This statuette likely stood with other small bronzes in a household shrine called a lararium.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- bronze with copper inlays
- Dimensions
- Overall: 14.5 cm (5 11/16 in.)
- Departments
- Greek and Roman Art
- Accession Number
- 1987.3
- Credit Line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Exhibitions
- The Year in Review for 1987, Basel Antiques Fair, April 1985, <em>The Gods Delight: The Human Figure in Classical Bronze</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1988-January 8, 1989)
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 103 Roman
Have a concern, a correction, or something to add?
