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Hand of a boxer
Roman
Imperial Period
about A.D.150–220
Medium/Technique
Bronze
Dimensions
Length: 20 cm (7 7/8 in.); end of thumb to end of wrist: 16.2 cm (6 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Robert E. Hecht, Jr.
Accession Number1972.900
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), no. 085.
DescriptionThis sculptural fragment shows the complex formation of the ancient boxing "glove". There is a rope or fur-and-leather edge around the wrist and thongs or ropes running criss-cross in the palm and down the back of the hand. The ropes form a "harness" around the top of the knuckles of the clenched fist. Over this is tied a three-pronged "knuckle-duster" and into the hand, also over the knuckles and the four fingers, but grasped by the thumb is fitted a semi-circular, metal weapon, like a half-section of pipe, presumably for brutal fighting.
Condition:
Dark brown to black patina, with areas of green. The casting of the inside is fully visible, including "pins" (for the armature?).
Condition:
Dark brown to black patina, with areas of green. The casting of the inside is fully visible, including "pins" (for the armature?).
ProvenanceBy 1972: with Robert E. Hecht, Jr. (according to the entry in Sculpture in Stone and Bronze: thought to be from Asia Minor and then from a private collection in Switzerland); gift of Robert E. Hecht, Jr. to MFA, September 13, 1972