This bronze, burnished and patinated piece comes from prolific French Orientalist sculptor Émile Louis Picault. The statue comes from the myth surrounding the river Pactolus, now named Sart Çayı, located near the Aegean coast of Turkey. The river rises from Mount Tmolus, flows through the ruins of the old city of Sardis, and empties into the Gediz River, the ancient Hermus. Émile’s art has traditionally been based on legends and mythical characters. The legend surrounding the river comes from the story of King Midas, who originally wished from Bacchus to have everything he touched turned to gold. Once Midas realised that he couldn’t live with this gift, he was told to wash it away at the source of the Pactole river.