Description
Torso of a military man with a clamid. Roman Empire, 2nd century AD. Marble. Provenance: - Gorny & Mosch, Munich, Auktion 137, 15 December 2004, lot 144. - Fortuna Fine Art, Ltd., New York, 2009. - Private collection, New York (USA), acquired from the above, 12 May 2011. In good condition, no restorations. Measurements: 71.2 cm (height). Torso of a life-size round sculpture, carved in marble, representing a male figure. He wears trousers, leather armour and a clamid, an unusual combination only found in the representations of high-ranking military men in historical reliefs from the times of Trajan and Antoninus Pius, in the first half of the 2nd century AD. The sculptural work is magnificent, although the most delicate parts of the work, such as the head and hands, have been lost. The folds of the chlamys are heavy, very expressive, and curve in parallel over the chest and in a V-shape towards the knees, lending monumentality to the figure, a solemn and heroic air typical of the personage represented. Perhaps the reference for this way of representing the chlamys, falling vertically and concealing the body completely, is certain Greek representations of the god Hermes, of which Roman copies have survived. The breastplate is hidden beneath the cloak, although it is worked with care and detail, with great attention to the play of volume. Above the surviving knee, the fine trousers are creased, accentuating the slight movement of the leg. The back of the sculpture has only sketched volumes and an unpolished surface, indicating that it is a work to be seen from the front, intended to be placed in front of a wall or in a niche or niche. Roman military commanders traditionally wore the cuirass together with the clamid, a garment that was already worn by the cavalry in Greece. The use of trousers, however, was much later. Although in Cicero's time this garment was rejected by the Romans as barbarian (it was identified with the Gauls), with the expansion of the empire its use began to spread among Roman troops for practical reasons, especially on the battlefields of the north.
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Torso of a military man with a clamid. Roman Empire, 2nd cen
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