1st-2nd century AD. A silver statuette representing the god Silvan, modelled in the round standing on a rectangular base, semi-naturalistic anatomical and facial detailing, a hound at his feet, he is wearing a pine-wreath and a goatskin, and holding a branch and a pine-cone. Cf. a statuette in bronze of Silvan at the BM, from Nocera Inferiore, Italy; cf. another similar statue at the National Archaeological Meum of Madrid; see Walters, H.B., catalogue of the Bronzes in the British Meum. Greek, Roman & Etrcan, London, 1899, no.1523. 11.5 grams, 32mm high (1 1/4"). Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. From an Important North West London collection. Silvan was the Roman god of forests, groves and wild fields. As a fertility god he was the protector of herds and cattle and was associated with Faun. The first fruits of the fields were offered to him, as well as meat and wine - a ritual forbidden to women. His attributes were mainly a pruning knife and a bough from a pine tree.