Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

B 129
Terme Boxer. Rome

Bronze statue of a boxer, who seated after a fight, turns sharply to look over his right shoulder. Dated variously to the third century BC, to the first century BC, or as a Roman work based on a statue of the third century BC.

Bronze
Statue
1.28 m

From Rome. Found in the area of the Convent of S. Silvestro on Via Novembre on the Quirnal Hill in 1885. This is the area of the Baths of Constantine.
Italy, Rome, Museo Nazionale Romano, 1055
Probably first century BC

Preservation:
The statue was made in numerous separate pieces that were soldered together. The principal sections were the legs, torso, arms, head, and genitals. Also except for the big toe, the toes of the feet were cast together and added. The indentations on the right shoulder and on the right arm are defects in the fusion process. The eyes are missing. They were added in a polychrome material. The top of the head (according to Moreno 1995) and the neck (according to MNR I,1 1979) represent Roman repairs. The rocky seat and a piece of the right thigh are modern restoration. After its discovery the statue was recomposed using metal plates hidden on the inside, stucco, and general surface patination. From 1984-1987 the statue underwent a full restoration that revitalized the original surface.

Description:
The statue depicts a muscular, bearded boxer seated upon a rock. He is nude but for the elaborate boxing gloves which wrap around the base of the fingers, the wrists, and the forearms almost to the elbows. The right leg of the figure extends forward. Only the heel touches the ground; the foot appears to be worn by constant rubbing. The left leg is pulled backwards. On the bottom of the left foot an alpha is inscribed. The elbows rest on the thighs and the forearms turn toward the center of the body. The hands, left over right, rest on each other in front of the center of the body. They conceal the infibulated penis from direct view. A different colored metal has been used for the nipples. Also on the body there are drops of blood, grooves filled with copper (damascening). The drops seem to have fallen from the facial wounds onto the right side of the body as the head was turned. The head of the figure, tilted upwards, turns over its right shoulder. The face is in large part covered by the beard which is thick and composed of locks that curl at their ends. The hair begins high on the low forehead and is combed upward at the center of the forehead. It is rendered in relatively short locks which fall over each other without a part. . The lower portion of the brow projects distinctly. The eyebrows are unkempt and contract over the bridge of the nose. Under the right eye is a swollen and bruised area. To achieve that effect, a bronze patch of a different color has been used. The nose itself is flattened and its ridge has a lumpy outline. The mouth is open but the upper teeth are missing. The lips are full but not shapely. The lips are rendered in thick copper, not merely with a copper laminate. There are scars on both cheeks. The ears are swollen, “cauliflower” in shape, and covered with cuts.

Discussion:
The bronze statue of the boxer was found in the mid-nineteenth century in Rome in the area of the Baths of Constantine. A bronze statue, known as the Hellenistic Ruler, was found at the same time in the same area. It is unlikely, however, that they are pendants. The scars on the boxer’s face, the drops of blood on his body, and the gloves suggest that the he has just finished fighting. The subject is suitable for a bath complex where there was a palestra in which individuals would be training. The life-like qualities and the careful details, some of which are polychromatic, are striking and continually noted by scholars. A gem in Göttingen, known before the discovery of the statue, portrays a boxer in the same position. Thus, this statue or a statue which it copies or a similar statue might have been well known in antiquity. The specific subject of the statue is unknown. Ancient authors mention various statues of boxers. One, therefore, tends to think that a mortal subject rather than a mythological one was intended. Going one step further, R.R.R. Smith identifies the statue as an example of genre realism; that is, it looks very much like it could be a specific boxer but it need not be one. It is simply a statue of a boxer. The date of the Terme Boxer or the date of the statue which it might copy are subject to opinion. The technique of the statue does not present any conclusive evidence since parallels for the copper inlays and the discoloured area of the bruise can be found already in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. The Boxer was for a brief period, 1927-1959, thought to bear a signature of Apollonios, son of Nestor, an Athenian sculptor of the first century BC. Although this has been proven false, most scholars, still comparing the Boxer to the Belvedere Torso (B 129)(which is signed by Apollonios), date it to first century BC. Others see the Boxer as a third century BC work or a copy of a third century BC work. These dates are mainly based on style and comparisons to other works, some of which are themselves not securely dated. Moreover, many of the first century works do draw upon earlier, including third century, models. P. Moreno insists that the Terme Boxer is a work of Lysippos. He believes that its head, body, and turn closely resemble similar points in other statues of Lysippos. Moreover, he notes that Pausanias saw a statue of Polydamas, a famous pancriast (heavy-weight boxer), at Olympia, the base of which signed by Lysippos is preserved. The base would be appropriate in size. Furthermore, a passage in Lucian claims that people rubbed the feet of this statue for its curative powers. This might explain the wear on the right foot of the Terme statue. Also, Moreno believes that Pliny gives us good reason to suspect that realism was a feature of the work of Lysippos. Julia Lenaghan

Bibliography:
R. Carpenter, "Apollonios Nestoros" (MAAR 6 1927) 134-136 pls.49-51 reads the signature of Apollonios, son of Nestor, the Athenian on the left glove
M. Guarducci, "Apollonio figlio di Nestore e la statua del Pugilatore seduto" (ASAtene 37-38 1959) 361-365 argues against Carpenter’s reading, the letters would be too small and they are merely corrosions in the surface
(O. Vasari), Museo Nazionale Romano: Le Sculture I, 1 (Rome 1979) 194-198 no.123 full catalogue entry with detailed discussion, considers the statue a creation of the first century BC which borrows from early Hellenistic works
P. Moreno, "Sculture lisippee nei Musei di Roma" (Archeologia Laziale 9 1988) 467-482 considers the boxer to be similar to works of Lysippos and possibly to be the statue of Polydamas, a boxer by Lysippos, set up in Olympia, the base of which is preserved
N. Himmelmann, Herrscher und Athlet. Die Bronzen von Quirinal (Milan 1989) 150-180, 201-204, figs.58, 67 discussion of representations of boxers and of the style of the Terme boxer which he considers to be first century BC but to draw on elements of the third century BC, also conservation report
R. R. R. Smith, Hellenistic Sculpture. A Handbook (London 1991) 54-55 fig.62 considers it to be an example of genre realism, thinks a comparison with the Belvedere torso should illustrate differences in detail and concept
D. Haynes, The Technique of Greek Bronze Statuary (Mainz 1992) 111 notes that the use of copper inlays as seen in the Terme Boxer occurs in the fifth century BC
P. Moreno, Scultura Ellenistica (Rome 1994) 60-66 figs. 15, 59, 66, 68, 72, 74-76, 78 asserts that the Terme boxer shows affinities to various works of Lysippos and to what Pliny tells us about Lysippos
P. Moreno (ed), Lisippo. L’Arte e la fortuna (Monza 1995) 97-100 no.4.13.1 discussion which attributes the statue to Lysippos and catalogue entry