Copper-alloy, 47.86 grams, 132 mm. 1st-4th century AD. A rectangular decorative panel in copper-alloy repoussé. The design comprises a nude, winged cupid or cherub bearing on his right shoulder a dolphin, supporting its head with his left arm. The panel is nicely modelled with the face and tousled hair crisply delineated, and with sturdy trunk and legs; the wing's feathers are created with crescent punchmarks above vertical incised detailing. The dolphin's head is deeply pressed and the tail curls over above the cupid's head. Four raised roundels mark the proposed fixing points, but only two have been punched through and opened. The motif of the 'cupid and dolphin' is not uncommon in 1st-2nd century Roman art, but it is more common for the child to be riding on the creature's back - as seen for example on the mosaic floor at Fishbourne Roman palace, Sussex. Both cupid and the dolphin are associated with the cult of Venus and it is probably in this context that the plaque should be understood. Reference: cf. Venus-and-Cupid imagery on the mosaic at Low Ham villa in Branigan, K. Roman Britain - Life in an Imperial Province, London, 1980 p.195. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.