Tiber

Maker Fonderia Chiurazzi (Italian, founded 1870)

Dateearly 20th century

CultureItalian

MediumBronze

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936

Object numberSN5454

This one of a pair of statues, personifications of the rivers Nile and Tiber, was unearthed in the early 16th century at the site of an ancient Roman sanctuary honoring the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis. The Nile leans against a sphinx, symbol of Egypt, and holds a cornucopia and a sheaf of wheat, reminders of the bountiful properties of the river valley. Clambering around him are children, some of whom play with a crocodile and ichneumon, animals associated with the Nile. The Tiber, likely made at a later date as a pendant to the Nile, holds an oar, symbolizing the navigability of river, and a cornucopia. In the foreground, a she-wolf suckles the twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

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