Nile, Ancient marble statue in Museo Chiaramonti, Vatican City.

The Nile is a marble statue of an anonymous sculptor from the late 1st century, catalogued as MV.2300.0.0 in the Museo Chiaramonti and displayed in the Braccio Nuovo. The river god lies on his left side, a cornucopia in his left hand and a bundle of wheat ears in his right, his left elbow resting on a sphinx that stands for Egypt. A crocodile, a mongoose, hippopotamuses, reeds and lotuses surround him, and the base block shows Pygmies in boats and sacred ibises.

The statue was found in 1513 in the Campo Marzio area of Rome, where it had stood in the Iseum Campense, a temple to Isis active until the 5th century. Pope Leo X had it placed in the gardens of the Palazzo del Belvedere. Under Clement XIV, Gaspare Sibilla restored it, adding missing fingers, cornucopia handles, toes and the bodies of nearly all the boys; the added marble differs visibly from the original.

The sixteen boys on the base correspond to the sixteen cubits of the Nile's maximum annual flood, the level that ensured the best harvest. The river god holds a sheaf of wheat and a cornucopia, and his left elbow rests on a sphinx symbolising Egypt. Reeds, lotus flowers, a crocodile, a mongoose and hippopotamuses surround him, while pygmies in boats and sacred ibises appear on the base block.

The statue is displayed in the Braccio Nuovo of the Museo Chiaramonti, catalogued as MV.2300.0.0. Look for the added marble patches on the right hand, the cornucopia handles and the feet: they differ in stone from the original. The twin Tiber found nearby in 1512 is now in the Louvre.

The sixteen boys on the base refer to the sixteen cubits of the Nile's maximum annual flood, the level that guaranteed the best harvest. The artist also carved a crocodile, a mongoose, hippopotamuses, reeds and lotuses, and on the base block Pygmies in boats and sacred ibises.