Ave!

Figural Plaque, Venus and Cupid, ca. 1st-3rd Cent AD, Rare!

Cast Lead; 62mm/30.6gm

Con/ About As Cast; choice golden brown lead patina

Description/ Venus, nude, standing facing, right arm across her chest, left hand demurely covering her private parts. Below to her right, her infant son, Cupid stands facing, playing with a hoop which he holds above his head.

Seller's Note/ Prospective brides offered Venus a gift "before the wedding"; the nature of the gift, and its timing, are unknown. The wedding ceremony itself, and the state of lawful marriage, belonged to Juno – whose mythology allows her only a single marriage, and no divorce from her habitually errant spouse, Jupiter – but Venus and Juno are also likely "bookends" for the ceremony; Venus prepares the bride for "connubial bliss" and expectations of fertility within lawful marriage. Some Roman sources say that girls who come of age offer their toys to Venus; it is unclear where the offering is made, and others say this gift is to the Lares. Got all that? LOL!

So, was this image of Venus a girls toy? Not likely. A votive offering of some sort or a fertility amulet in a house-hold shire? Most likely but sadly, we will never know for sure. Ground-found in the Balkans, this figural plaque is elegantly charming and rare for the size.