Herald'S Staff (Caduceus

Herald's staff (Caduceus, Kerykeion), bronze, cast, engraved, hallmarked, bronze, Total: Height: 8.6 cm; Width: 2.2 cm, Rituals and ceremonies, votive gifts, snakes, bird feathers, Early Imperial period, Roman antiquity, In this small-format Kerykeion the shaft is turned, the back slightly flattened and little worked out. The upper section is flanked by two wings decorated with three rows of carefully engraved feathers. The snake bodies are scaled and knotted together at the crossing. The tail of one snake rests on the upper base of the stick shaft. The small size of the herald's staff probably indicates that it served as an attribute of a statuette - probably of the god Hermes.. (Photo by: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)