A Roman marble torso of a warrior

A Roman marble torso of a warrior.

Circa 2nd century AD.

This powerful figure is probably from a sarcophagus relief depicting a battle. Carved in very high relief, it preserves the rear view of a muscular warrior depicted in heroic nudity with his sword belt diagonally across his chest, and the drapery wrapped around his left arm and falling at his side. The figure is dynamically twisting to his left, revealing the defined musculature of his back and shoulders. 

Provenance:

Leif Hasle (1933-2016) Collection, Denmark, thought to have been acquired between the 1970s and 1990s.

Literature:

This warrior is close to representations of Diomedes after the famous Greek statue of Diomedes sculpted by Kresilas in the 5th century BC. The hero is sometimes represented with a balteus (sword belt) across his chest as in this example and the Munich Diomedes (Glyptothek München, Munich, acc. no. 304). The heroic nudity indicates that the relief would have been mythological in subject, possibly an Amazonomachy or a scene from the Trojan wars.

Dimensions

Price on application

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance