Sculpture of Barbarian; Rome; I-II century A.D.

Sculpture of Barbarian; Rome; I-II century A.D.
Marble.
It presents flaws caused by the passage of time.
Measurements: 63 x 16 x 15 cm.
The standing figure is dressed in a long tunic and pants, suggesting that it is a barbarian. The head, neck, upper part of the bust and hands are missing, which were made separately, probably of white marble. The forearms rest on the thighs; the hands may have been bound, although similar figures sometimes hold a ladle. The right leg is crossed over the left. Aesthetically it has similarities with the Barbarian prisoner Thusnelda, Loggia dei Lanzi, FlorenceEarly 2nd century. Discovered in Rome, in 1541 already part of the Capranica della Valle collection in Rome. Since 1584 in the Villa Medici in Rome, in Florence since 1787. In the Loggia since 1789. The inspiration for this sculpture probably comes from the series of bound captive dice that decorated the Forum of Trajan.
The Romans brought two important novelties to the world of sculpture: portraiture and historical relief, neither of which existed in the Greek world. However, they followed the Greek models for much of their sculptural production, a base that in Rome would be combined with the Etruscan tradition. After the first contacts with the Greece of classicism through the colonies of Magna Graecia, the Romans conquered Syracuse in 212 BC, a rich and important Greek colony located in Sicily, adorned with a large number of Hellenistic works. The city was sacked and its artistic treasures taken to Rome, where the new style of these works soon replaced the Etruscan-Roman tradition that had prevailed until then. Cato himself denounced the sacking and decoration of Rome with Hellenistic works, which he considered a dangerous influence on native culture, and deplored the Romans' applauding of statues from Corinth and Athens, while ridiculing the decorative terracotta tradition of ancient Roman temples. However, these oppositional reactions were in vain; Greek art had subdued Etruscan-Roman art in general, to the point that Greek statues were among the most coveted prizes of war, being displayed during the triumphal procession of the conquering generals.