FIGURINE

A copper-alloy Roman figurine dating to the first to third centuries AD. The figurine is that of a naked Cupid in a flying pose. His features are well-rendered with eyes, nose, mouth and fingers clearly visible. Cupid's hair is shoulder length with curls framing his face. Ribbed and grooved decoration indicates the direction of individual strands of hair. A distinctive topknot of hair, comprising four small, spherical mouldings arranged in a square, decorates his forehead. His right arm is held upwards above his head. The hand of the right arm holds a jug. The left arm is close to the body and bent at the elbow. He holds an unidentified disc-shaped object in his hand, possibly a plate or patera. The figurine has small wings. Decoration is visible on the right wing, comprising three incised diagonal lines, representing feathers. The left leg is forward of the right leg suggesting movement. The left foot is missing as is a portion of the right calf and the whole foot on the right leg. The figurine measures 55mm in length and from arm to arm measures approximately 24mm in width. The body has a maximum thickness of 13mm (including wings).

The Cupid is similar to examples from Kirby Thore (Green 1978, 62), Corbridge (Green 1978, 58) and Moresby (Green 1978, 65) as well as another example from the same deposit at Piercebridge (NCL-2C40A4). It suggests that this type of Venus figurine was particularly popular on the northern frontier. However, the other examples do not pair Cupid with the 'attributes' of jug and plate, making this figurine extremely unusual.