#9: Hands up! – "perperam incisor fecit" – The Sucellus in Petau's Portiuncula - [Reception stories. The Antiquitatum Thesaurus blog]

This article traces the graphic transformations of a small bronze statuette depicted in the Antiquariae Supellectilis Portiuncula – one of the first collection catalogs of ancient artifacts in the possession of Paul Petau (1568-1614), advisor to the Parliament of Paris during the reign of Henry IV. The figure, which is erroneously described as “POPA ÆREVS”, is actually the Gallo-Roman god Sucellus. The incorrect depiction of the statuette in rear view initially gave rise to written explanations next to the image and later necessitated the creation of a new plate. This intervention also motivated a proposal to add some missing parts in the front view. Among other things, the plates are interesting for tracing the composition of some Portiuncola specimens and are helpful in dating them.