Ancient Roman Bronze eagle statuette - 33 mm

Ancient Roman Bronze Eagle Statuette

Culture / Period: Ancient Roman
Date / Period: 1st-2nd century A.D.
Material: Bronze
Dimensions: 33 mm
Condition: Good condition

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Provenance information:
Object Registration ID: 935

The current owner (S.N.J. S.) purchased the eagle statuette from R.N. in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The previous owner, R.N. of Rotterdam, did not provide a date for when the object entered his collection.

According to the previous owner, the object had previously formed part of a private collection in the Netherlands. The date and duration of this earlier ownership were not provided and remain unknown.

No further information concerning the earlier ownership history of the object was available from the previous owner.

Background Information:
This small bronze statuette represents an eagle standing upright on an integral base, with the body, folded wings and projecting tail rendered in a compact and stylised manner. Small bronze figures of animals could serve a variety of decorative, symbolic or religious purposes in the Roman world, although the precise original function of this individual piece cannot be established with certainty.

The eagle (aquila) was one of the most significant birds in Roman iconography. Closely associated with Jupiter, the supreme Roman deity, it symbolised divine authority, power and victory. The eagle also had an important imperial and military role, most famously as the emblem carried by Roman legions. Its appearance on objects outside strictly military contexts demonstrates the broader importance of the image within Roman visual culture.

Small bronze figures were manufactured within an established tradition of Roman metalworking, normally through casting followed by finishing and, where appropriate, the addition of surface details. Such objects were produced and circulated throughout the Empire, with workshops responding to religious, decorative and domestic demand across both Italy and the provinces.

Dating to the 1st–2nd century A.D., this statuette belongs to the Early Roman Imperial period, when Roman artistic forms and religious imagery circulated across an extensive network of cities, military settlements and provincial communities. With its immediately recognisable eagle form, the piece provides a tangible connection to Roman craftsmanship and to a symbol that held an important place in the religious, imperial and military culture of the ancient world.