1st century BC-2nd century AD. A bronze statuette of god Mercury (Greek Hermes), standing naked, the right arm outstretched holding a sack of gold, mantle (chlamys) to the left shoulder, wearing a petasos cap fitted with wings, the feet closed in his winged shoes (talaria"). Cf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, items 40ff., especially 45 and 47. 116 grams, 10cm high (4"). European art market in the 2000s. UK private collection. Property of a Surrey gentleman. After his identification with the Greek Hermes, Roman artists retained Hermes’ attributes (the petasos cap, the face and body of a beardless young man, the caduce staff, the winged shoes (pteróenta pédila)) and popularised Mercury’s own attribute, the money bag. The bag had been seen on some, but not all, Greek depictions of Hermes.