A boy stands on a cylindrical pedestal on top of a hexagonal base. Both pedestal and base are molded, the latter being supported by four legs in the shape of animal claws crowned by frontal busts of sphinxes. The base is hollow cast while the statuette itself is solid.
Standing on the top of this sumptuous pedestal is a young boy spreading his legs, stretching his arms, and looking upwards. His face is turned to the left, and his eyes focus on what must be an object once held in his hands. The elbows are gently bent and the fingers flexed. The face is chubby-cheeked with a small mouth. The eyes are inlaid with silver and enamel, preserved only in the right eye. The hair is short and curly. Abdul-Hak opined that the child must be a Black African, but his physiognomy does not support such an assumption, perhaps based on the dark patina covering the surface.
Provenance: Fīq, ad-Dabbūsīyyā necropolis.
Substance: bronze.
Dimensions: height 23.2 cm (including the base), maximal width 14 cm, diameter of the base 10.8-13.9 cm.
Era: 1st century CE.
Text: adapted from Weber (p. 70).
Photography: same source.
Collection: National Museum of Damascus (acquired March 1946).
Sélim et Andrée Abdul-Hak. Catalogue Illustré du Département des antiquités Gréco-Romaines au Musée de Damas, 1951.
Thomas M. Weber. Sculptures from Roman Syria in the Syrian National Museum of Damascus. Vol I, from Cities and Villages in Central and Southern Syria. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft. Worms. 2006.
Highlights of the National Museum of Damascus. DGAM (Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées de Syrie). Ministère de la Culture, 2006.
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