CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

Dressed in full military parade costume, known as a cuirass, this torso belongs to a class of Roman portrait statues erected to honour military heroes, triumphant generals and male members of the imperial family. These cuirassed statues were often richly decorated with emblematic compositions, so as to also serve as imperial victory propaganda, wherever they were disseminated.

This example wears a classical-style cuirass with two rows of lappets, decorated with Gorgoneia, lion's heads and palmettes, over a row of long leather straps. As was customary in the design of Roman armour, the surface of the cuirass imitates the musculature of the human torso. The figure wears a paludamentum over the cuirass, which is swept up over his shoulder. Of note is the absence of decoration on the cuirass, which we see also in a torso at the Getty Villa, Los Angeles, acc. no. 71.AA.436. The lack of ornamentation and size of the present example indicates that the statue did not represent an emperor or a member of the imperial family, but perhaps a general, or more likely a god, such as Mars. Cf. no. 24b in E. Simon, 'Ares/Mars' in LIMC, vol. II.