Portrait of a Young Man in Armor

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1983.74 - Cuirassed Statue - Photographs taken by TMA after acquisition (1983).pdf

Portrait of a Young Man in Armor

Place of OriginSouthern Turkey

DateHadrianic (about 130 CE)

Dimensions87 1/4 × 34 × 24 1/8 in. (221.6 × 86.4 × 61.3 cm)

MediumWhite marble, medium grain, chalky texture; isotopic analysis suggests Aphrodisias or Dokimeion quarries.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1983.74

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Collections

Sculpture

Published References"La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 105, no. 1394, Mar. 1985, repr. p. 27.

The Toledo Museum of Art 1984 Annual Report, 1984, 9, repr., 16 repr. in conservation.

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: map and guide, London, Scala, 2005, p. 10, repr. (col.).

Smith, R.R.R., Roman portrait statuary from Aphrodisias, Mainz, Philipp von Zabern, 2006, p. 117, n. 2.

Knudsen, Sandra E., Craine, Clifford, and Tykot, Robert H., “Analysis of Classical Marble Sculptures in the Toledo Museum of Art,” in Herrmann, John J. Jr., Herz, Norman, and Newman, Richard, eds., ASMOSIA 5: Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone, (London: Archetype Publications, 2002), pp. 236-237, no. 7, fig. 8ab.

Vermeule, Cornelius C., "Roman Imperial Persons in North America," The Celator, vol. 17, no. 12, Dec. 2003, pp. 28-31, repr. p. 31. "This is the only complete military statue in America, probably a connection of the imperial family from Southern Asia Minor."

Vermeule, Cornelius, "Roman provincial coins III: the statues in the temples and shrines - major gods, heroic rulers, and sculptural sources for Roman coin reverses," The Celator, vol. 18, no. 3, Mar. 2004, p. 10, repr.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Vermeule, Cornelius, Hellenistic and Roman Cuirassed Statues, Boston, 1980, see particularly p. 108, no. 65 and p. 14, fig. 4, pp. 15-16, no. 196B for the related statue of Hadrian from Perge.

cf. Mellink, M.J., "Archaeology in Asia Minor," American Journal of Archaeology 77, 1973, p. 180 (Perge Hadrian).

cf. Berytus XVI, 1966, pl. XII, fig. 13. (Statue of Hadrian found near the arch near the gateway at Perge)

cf. Robinson, H. Russell, The Armour of Imperial Rome, London and New York, 1975. (for Roman armour in general).

cf. Strong, D.C., Roman Imperial Sculpture, London, 1961.

Label TextA Roman city had two populations: a human one and a second one in marble and bronze. Every building and public space was decorated with statues of gods and goddesses, historical figures, important benefactors, and public officials, including the emperor. That this man is wearing armor does not necessarily mean that he was a general; provincial governors could command troops in their provinces, though they rarely did. The armor he is wearing would not have been worn in combat, but instead was used for parades or public appearances. The breastplate, or cuirass (KWIR-ahs), mimics a heroically muscled body. On it are a series of protective symbols. Two griffins are in the center. The head of Medusa, whose glance could turn men into stone, is above. On the shoulder straps are the thunderbolts of Jupiter, the king of the gods. The body of the sculpture would have been carved at the quarry, essentially as a stock item. Once the statue was shipped to its destination, the portrait head would be carved by a local artist. The back of the statue is unfinished, because it originally would have stood in a recess high up on a building.