Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D. or later. A bronze bust of the god Mars, modelled in the round with a youthful face and short, wavy hair emerging from beneath his pseudo-Corinthian helmet, wearing a muscular, moulded cuirass embellished with a gorgoneion head applique and lappets, holding a round shield in his right hand and the hilt of the sword in his left; mounted on a custom-made display stand. See Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques De Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, item 316 (similar small mount of Minerva). 41.2 grams total, 70 mm including stand (2 3/4 in.). Acquired 1980s-1990s. Collection of M. Cummings, Lincolnshire, UK. The function of the object is unclear, although it could be the upper part of a knife hilt or of a key, or more probably, the upper decoration of a tripod. The subject differs substantially from the Mars iconography of the small statuettes, and theposition of the helmet seems more related to a later copy of a Roman original representing Minerva transformed into Mars.