Statue of Zeus

Statue of Zeus. Henry Blundell believed that it originated from Emperor Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. The certain provenance of the statue around 1790 was the Villa d'Este. The statue was much restored on 15th June 1572, including the tree-trunk and eagle. The head is unbroken from the body. The god stands in a chiastic pose, the right leg straight supports the body, the left leg bent and extends to the back of the body. The right arm is to the side, holding a spear or a shaft, the left one is raised and was probably holding an attribute such as a lightening rod. The god appears to be in a halted motion, a feature in the works of many Roman sculptors. The muscles of the upper body can be seen to evoke the Doryphoros type by the Greek sculptor Polykleitos. The pedestal of this statue once had a series of reliefs and inscriptions inserted into the back (59.148.398, 59.148.1022, 59.148.1023, Ince 538)