CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.

It is likely that this fragment is Hadrianic in date, due to the distinctive style of the dress boots of the subject. A series of buttons, or bronze grommets, attach a piece of cut leather to either side of the lacing, perhaps as a form of reinforcement, and a stylized feline head adorns the top of the boots. These features are also found in the sandals of a statue of the young Marcus Aurelius in the Staatliche Museen, Berlin (acc. no. Sk368), and on the footwear of two statues of Hadrian in the Vatican Museums and in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (F. S. Kleiner, A History of Roman Art Boston, 2007, fig.12-3, p.172). It has been suggested that the dress boots of the young Marcus Aurelius conciously emulated those of his predeccessor Hadrian as a means of emphasising his legitimate succession and dynastic continuity. More generally, distinctive footwear may have played a role in indicating the subject of imperial statuary, thereby enabling us to postulate an imperial subject for this piece.