Small bust of a boxer

The figure of a young boxer emerging from a leafed flower calyx, probably comes from the bronze decorating of a roman triumphal chariot.

His torso is athletic and his head is crowned with a laurel victory wreath. His eyes were inlaid and traces of silver are preserved inside the eye socket. The boxer wears the typical Roman boxing gloves (caestus), made of leather or wool and reinforced on the palms with studs of metal and nails sewn on the leather. They usually covered the entire arm up to the shoulder, while at intervals, fastened with leather thongs. Boxing was one of the oldest Olympic sports, however, during the Roman period with the use of caestus it could lead to death of one’s opponent.