Head of Mars

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

2nd century

Roman

Mars, the Roman god of war, was viewed as both a warrior and a guardian of the Roman people. He can be identified by his distinctive helmet, which here is richly carved with imagery alluding to his martial role. The
sides depict griffins, winged beasts associated with his vengeful nature, while the cheek pieces are each adorned with an image of Cupid carrying a spear and shield. Mars was closely associated with Cupid’s mother, Venus, the goddess of love, whose domain also included warfare and military victory.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Roman
Title: Head of Mars
Place: Roman Empire (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 101 CE–200 CE
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: 59.2 × 29.5 × 37.8 cm (23 3/8 × 11 5/8 × 14 7/8 in.)
Credit Line: Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund
Reference Number: 1984.1
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/102074/manifest.json

Art Institute of Chicago, “Acquisitions,” Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report 1983–84 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1984), p. 47.
Louise Berge, “A War God in Chicago,” in “A War God in Chicago,” special issue, Ancient World 10, 3–4 (1984), p. 66, cover (ill.).
Cornelius C. Vermeule III, “Roman Art,” in “Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” special issue, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 20, 1 (1994), p. 75, cat. 54 (ill.).
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 39, no. 134.
Katharine A. Raff, “Cat. 10 Head of Mars: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).
Rachel C. Sabino, with contributions by Lorenzo Lazzarini, “Cat. 10 Head of Mars: Technical Report,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).

Art Institute of Chicago, Sculpture From the Classical Collection, Gallery 101A, September 1, 1987-August 31, 1988.
Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 156, April 20, 1994-February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 152, November 11, 2012-April 2, 2015.

Wilheim Flender (1888-1972), Siegen, Germany, from about 1930 [this and the following according to correspondence in curatorial object file]; Mohammed Yeganeh, Frankfurt, Germany, by 1980; sold to the Art Institute, 1984.

Cat. 10 Head of Mars, 2nd century A.D.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.