Mercury of Mérida

The material employed for this statue comes from the quarries of Estremoz. Lusitanian marble was primarily used in Colonia Augusta Emerita, beginning with the reign of Tiberius, as much for architectural adornment as for this provincial capital's exceptional production of statuary.

The figure undeniably is derived as much from a theme, i.e. Hermes seated, as from an aesthetic attributed to Lysippus, the sculptor of the Greek Hellenistic period. The version done in marble from Mérida, which associates with this god's image the lyre, wings on the sandals (mostly broken), and perhaps the

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