Plinth fragment
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
Unknown
Materials
Marble
Measurements
210 mm (H)370 mm (W)230 mm (D)
Order this imageCollection
Hezlett House, County Londonderry
NT 180506
Summary
Fragment of plinth with right foot and heel, lacinia, and fragment of left foot, one of three fragments from an over-lifesize and well worked togate statue with equestrian calceii. The figure stands with its weight on its left leg but the feet are in the same plane about a shoulder width apart. The plinth is small and rectangular. There is no indication of a statue support but the combination of lacinia with left leg functions as such. The large scale and the lack of a statue support suggest an early date. Although heavily repaired, some of the clamps might well be ancient and reflect problems caused by a lack of statue support. These three fragments constitute the feet and shins of a Roman statue that depicted a man of equestrian class; i.e. a wealthy man but one who was not rich enough to enter the Senate and one who was generally considered a businessman. This can be deduced from the footwear. The shoes that the figure wears are sock-like leathers (calceii) which fold down over the ankle and there create multiple horizontal folds. These are not the leather shoes with criss-crossing straps of a Roman senator.