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Votive Hand of Zeus Sabazios

Date
2nd–4th century CE
Material
Bronze
associated with
Asia
associated with
Europe
Classification
Metalwork, sculpture
Collection
Ancient Art
Current Location
On View, Gallery 259
Dimensions
approximate: 8 x 3 x 2 in. (20.3 x 7.6 x 5.1 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Rights
Public Domain
Object Number
52:1956
NOTES
As today, individuals in antiquity found ways to express their devotion to the gods. Whether maintaining a small altar at home for the worship of a particular deity, or presenting gifts called votives, at sanctuaries or graves, many of the objects that survive from antiquity served a ritual function.

This bronze in the shape of a hand represents Zeus in an Anatolian (Asia Minor) guise of Sabazios, who like Zeus was the god of the sky.
- 1956
Spink & Son, London, England

1956 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Spink & Son [1]


Notes:
[1] Invoice dated June 25, 1956 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, June 7, 1956.

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