File:Mercurius (Musgrave).jpg

English: "Penates (Household Gods) Dug Up at Devises in Our Belgium in the Year 1714, Table 6.

"10. Mercury. Length: 3¼ in.

"IX. TO Mercury I go on, who indeed I assert the Ninth Figure to be, when there is no doubt that Little Mercuries of this sort were in use by the ancients. Apuleius (see elsewhere about him) had one and indeed a companion wherever he went. (I almost said from the number of the Penate Gods.) In both the one of Apuleius and this one of ours, everything is graceful and festive; in ours, his body is just as if he were balancing in the air with an outstretched Arm and gesturing as if a messenger from Jove. It is true that his Coin-Purse isn't here and his Rooster isn't here, but it is absolutely certain that among the ancients Mercury was not always painted or carved or cast in the same shape. On his Petasus, the Little Wings are a little high. Should I say it was a mistake by the artist or that it was done on purpose? Certainly in Tobias Gutberleth there is a coin from Joachim Oudaen and Jacques Goutière, in which Mercury has a helmet to which Wings and added and stands aloft, as in this Image. Apuleius introduces Mercury as a charming boy, naked, cheerful, and pleasing to the eye. Martianus Capella describes him as a Teen, with a lovely, tall, and strong body and with pubescent cheeks and makes no mention of any Wings or Caduceus. It is entirely probable that our Mercury held the Caduceus in his left hand but but in time it was broken.

"BY Alexander of Mammaea and similarly by Porphyry and by all the Gallic Natives, Mercury was held in great veneration. Nor is this any marvel, when he was heard to be the exhibitor of Quick Wits and Fine Speech; the Overseer of Merchants and Paths; the discoverer of Letters, Music, Gymnastics, and Geometry; and further the giver of Wealth."

Notes: "To the Most Noble Prince Frederick, the destined Royal Heir, Great Britain's hope, Delight, and most yearned for Spirit, son of the Most High George and grandson of the Most August George, William Musgrave, Fellow (?) of Exeter College, Oxford, of his own will and in Obedience to his Oath wished these here Penates, hidden by the Earth for 1500 years, to be dedicated.

"These Penates [found] by William Cadby, Gardener at Devizes, engraved on Brass and printed on Imperial Paper, are available for sale at the Booksellers Knapton in London, Clements in Oxford, and Yeo in Exeter. 1717."

Figure 10 from Musgrave's 3rd illustration of the Southbroom Hoard discovered outside Devizes, Wiltshire, in 1714. This statue is now lost, while others from the hoard are held by the British Museum. Durham categorized it as #377. Musgrave identified the figure as Mercury (Latin: Mercurius). Scholars now consider the headdress and pose to be closer to the presentation of Mars, Ares, or a Gallo-Roman equivalent via Interpretatio Graeca or Romana.


See also:

• Emma Durham, "Depicting the Gods: Metal Figurines in Roman Britain", Internet Archaeology, No. 31, 2012
• Emma Durham, "Style and Substance: Some Metal Figurines from South-West Britain", Britannia, No. 45, November 2014, pp. 195–221.