At first glance, these small statuettes seem to have little in common with each other. The one on the left is an Ancient Roman copy of Poseidon from the first or second century, originally made by the Greek artist Lysippos in the 3rd century BCE. The one on the right is a sandstone carving of a courtesan or idealised woman, having a voluptuous figure with garlands of jewels. She comes from central India from before 79 CE.
Taken together, these statues reflect a fascinating network of economic and cultural exchange that ran between the Ancient Roman Empire and the subcontinent of India in the first centuries of the common era. The sandstone statue of the woman was discovered at a merchant’s villa in the Roman ruins of Pompeii, while the Poseidon figurine was found amidst a heap of other Roman goods in the “Brahmapuri Hoard,” which dates to the early centuries CE and was discovered in India. Such artistic exchanges reflect abiding far-flung trade routes of the Ancient world.
Sources: “Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE to 400 CE,” at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
