NOTES ON A STATUE FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF UNION FROM ALBA IULIA

Abstract

This study proposes to re-evaluate a marble statue from the old collections of the National Museum of Union Alba Iulia. It was discovered by A. Cserni during excavations carried out at the Palace of the Governors of Roman Dacia, in 1898. It has been repeatedly published by Á. Hekler and Al. Diaconescu. While the latter author established dating and iconographic prototype of the statue, we believe that further details as discovery place and context, depiction, iconographic attribution and role of this work of art can be offered. Presence of a follower at the feet of the divinity, more precisely the right foot of a character – child, conveys us the idea of depiction of Eros, god of love. Usually, this is depicted beside nude or seminude Venus, and sculptural representation from Apulum is somehow different from iconographic point of view. As we see it, taking into consideration the discovery place, artefacts resulted from the same excavation, artistic eclecticism, religious iconographic influences and official politics of the Roman state, we believe we are dealing with rather an unusual statue of Venera as manner of representation or an image of an empress, wife of a governor or member of a family of municipal authorities from Apulum.