28

Acta Archaeologica

By its technique (the many smooth-
cut planes, the morbidezza of the
surface, and the drilling) and by its
style (the deep-set, shaded eyes, the
ascetically lean cheeks and the pathos
accentuated by the curve of the neck
and the expression), this so-called
Zeus bust (fig. 24) (107) reveals itself
as an Alexandrian work, or a Roman
work influenced from Alexandria
(108). Accordingly, it is very prob-
able that it does not represent Zeus,
but Serapis, so much the more as
the inscriptions tell us that in the
Diana sanctuary there were Egyptian
cults for Isis and Bubastis (above, p.
6). There would be no chronolog-
ical objection to dating this bust to
the beginning of the Empire and
assuming contemporaneity with the other sculptures in the votive chamber;
Wallis, however, states explicitly that it was not found in this chamber, but
in Room B to the west, which he titulates with “Sculptor’s Studio”. In all
probability he gave it this name because of the condition of the bust, which
in those days was thought to be an unfinished one. Helbig distinctly talks of
an “abbozzato” Zeus bust. This is incorrect. The cut surfaces were prepared
in the genuine Egyptian-Hellenistic way for plaster additions, and the marks
of the rasp, plainly to be seen on the breast, are an attempt at effect often

Fig. 25. Cast of a double herme from Nemi.
Nottingham.


resorted to by Greek sculptors.

(107) Wallis, No. 832. H. 0.61 m, br.
0.48 m.
(108) Compare Fr. Poulsen, From the
Collections of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, II,
1938, pp. 42 ff. and 49 f., fig. 52. Collig-

non, Recueil de Memoires de la Societe des
Antiquaires de France, Centenaire 1804-1904,
p. 81 fF. and pl. IV. Lechat, Mon. Piot,
XXIII, 1918-19, p. 34 f.