Archaeological Museum of Bologna

The character is represented as military with anatomical breastplate, finely decorated by two Nereids that confront each other, and cloak thrown on the shoulder.
The statue should be integrated with the right arm lowered, perhaps with an attribute in the hand and the left raised, with the hand that held the beam; his left leg was brought back. The head has been removed intentionally as indicated by the chisellings in the inner parts of the recess, at the base of the neck.

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The refinement of the sculpture, the big proportions (it was about 2,50 metres) and the attitude, suggest an official type of sculpture. The monument was erected by the people of Bononia as a sign of gratitude to Nero, as the emperor financed the reconstruction of the city following the fire of AD 53. The head was intentionally removed in antiquity as part of the practice of damnatio memoriae, the destruction of images of illustrious figures who were posthumously deemed enemies of the state, in order to remove them from the remembrance.

The sculpture, discovered in 1513 in the area where the city theatre was unearthed in 1982, was an ornament on this building and may have been placed at the top of the cavea.

Provenance: Bologna, via de' Carbonesi
Datation: Mid-1st century AD
Material: Marble, probably Greek Pentelic
Dimensions: Height: 117 cm
Inventory #: 19020