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Unknown Maker, Roman

Torso of a fighting giant
Now On View

Maker

Unknown Maker, Roman

Culture

Roman

Title

Torso of a fighting giant

Period

Roman

Year

117-138 CE

Medium

  • marble

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • marble

Materials

white marble

Dimensions

54.3 x 34.8 x 21.9 cm (21 3/8 x 13 11/16 x 8 5/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

25.064

Type

  • Sculpture

Publications

  • Books

A Handbook of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design

  • Books

Classical Sculpture

  • Books

Selected Works

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Sep 22, 2010

Label copy

From the 5th century BCE, giants appeared often in all the arts, particularly in sculpture. This sculpture echoes an architectural example from ancient Corinth in size, pose, and rosette ornament, suggesting a similar identification: that of a giant in battle. The engraved hair rosette on the chest of this torso has been found on sculptural examples of centaurs, giants, and satyrs. According to legend, giants attempted to overturn the rule of the gods in an early and mighty struggle. This torso was meant to be seen from all sides and may have been part of a battle scene in the round.

Rethinking the Romans
New Views of Ancient Sculpture
Apr 06, 2001 – Jan 02, 2009

Label copy

The engraved hair rosette on the chest of this torso reveals its semihuman status, for similar features have been found on sculptural examples of centaurs, giants, and satyrs. An architectural example from a frieze in Corinth matches the RISD figure in size, pose, and rosette ornament, suggesting a similar identification: that of a giant in battle. The most common battle legend about the mythical giants regarded their attempt to overturn the rule of the gods in an early and mighty struggle. From the fifth century BC, battles involving giants (gigantomachies) appeared often in the arts, especially in sculpture. The Providence piece was probably not part of a frieze, however, nor of any other type of architectural sculpture: the figure’s back side is almost as well defined as its front. Meant to be seen from all directions, the RISD torso may have been part of a battle scene in the round. The stump that juts out curiously from the figure’s lower left buttock was perhaps the strut that served to support and anchor the piece to its base.

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Roman
Torso of a fighting giant, 117-138 CE
Marble
54.3 x 34.8 x 21.9 cm (21 3/8 x 13 11/16 x 8 5/8 inches)
Museum Appropriation Fund 25.064

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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