Athena Review Image Archive ™
Autun: Gallo-Roman statue of river god
Autun: Gallo-Roman statue of river god (Musee Rolin; photo Athena Review 2012)
This marble sculpture, 1.18 m long, was found ca.1640 between the River Arroux and the Autun ramparts, and then used in a fountain at the chateau de Montjeu, where it was first described in 1660. This sculpture (inv. 83-84), which has the typical form of a river god, was one of the first Roman artifacts reported for Autun.
The statue may have personified the River Arroux, and been used at a bathhouse fountain. Statues of both river gods and goddesses were used by the Romans, including one of the Seine deity Sequana now at Dijon.
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