Boxer at Rest (Front)a

View of the “Terme Boxer” (Pugile delle Terme).  This bronze statue of a boxer, a pugilist, is signed by Apollonius.  He is seated, weary, and battered.  The realism of this statute is characteristic of the Hellenistic period.  It was found in Rome.  It is a first century A.D. copy of a third or second century B.C. original.  If you enlarge the image the leather gloves that the boxers wore—sometimes with metal bands, as in this case—are clearly visible.  Some believe it to be a representation of Amycus, king of the Bebryes, who had been in a fight with the divine Pollus, a super boxer!

Blows received during a match wounded his face, ears, and nose.  There are no wounds on his body since the face was the main target.  He is wearing elaborate leather gloves to protect his hands and forearms.  They consist of thick leather straps that bind four fingers, leaving the thumb free.  The artist was inspired by the style of the Greek sculptor Lysippus, and many consider this piece to be an original Greek bronze of the first century B.C.

This statue was cast in several pieces: the head and left leg were welded to the bust, as are the arms at the armpits, while the right leg was cast in one piece together with the torso.  The forearms also originate from separate castings, as do the genitals and middle toes.  The metal is 80% copper, 10 % tin, and 10% lead.

This piece was discovered in the March of 1885.  It had been purposefully buried upright and covered with sifted dirt in antiquity.  It is not known where it was originally placed although some believe that it may have decorated the Baths of Constantine (ca. A.D. 315).