Italian school, ca. 1810

Italian school, ca. 1810.
"Roman warrior".
Patinated bronze on Nero Belgio and Rosso Levanto marble base.
Measurements: 54 x 18 x 20 cm; 73 x 22 x 22 x 22 cm (with base).

Sculpture representing a Roman soldier completely dressed with the usual clothing: cossis or helmet with plume (it used to have some distinctive element), lorica or breastplate (with articulated metallic pieces) and coligoes or sandals (nailed and reinforced with a 2 cm thick leather sole). Although it is not preserved, it is very likely that a shield and a sword or gladius completed his clothing.
It is a work corresponding to the Grand Tour, a term that appears for the first time in the work "El Voyage d'Italie" by Richard Lassels, was used to define the long journey through Europe, especially Italy, which usually made the young British aristocrats from the seventeenth century, but especially throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The purpose of the trip was for young people to become acquainted with the art and culture of France and Italy, to admire classical art at first hand, to learn or improve their knowledge of languages, and to establish contacts and relationships with the cultural and political elites of these countries. Travelers were often looking for pieces with which to start their own art collections, objects to take back to their places of residence as souvenirs. For this reason, workshops specialized in the replica of Roman pieces, both in bronze and marble, emerged, some of which acquired a great reputation.