# Imperial Eagle

- Date: 100 BCE–100 CE
- Medium: bronze with garnet inlays
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: Overall: 12.1 x 6.9 x 9.7 cm (4 3/4 x 2 11/16 x 3 13/16 in.)
- Culture: probably Syria, Roman
- Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1988.40)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1988.40/1988.40_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This eagle stands on an integrated bronze base with overlapping ovoid-shaped feathers creating a layered pattern across its body, and its tail feathers fanned out. The wings, now lost, were likely cast separately in bronze and then soldered or welded to the bird’s body. The eyes are inlaid with red stones believed to be garnets. The eagle is associated with Jupiter, king of the gods, and the Roman poets Virgil and Horace described the birds as the bearers of his thunderbolt. While eagles were often depicted on Roman coins, the bird is rarely depicted in the round in Roman art.