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Murmillo gladiator
Roman
Imperial Period
2nd century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Bronze
Dimensions
Height: 10.8 cm (4 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jerome M. Eisenberg
Accession Number2005.588
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
DescriptionMurmillo gladiator, lunging forward with a dagger (missing), wearing a crested visored helmet. The murmillo was a type of gladiator that grew out of the gallus (Gaul) in the early imperial period and was regularly paired with the Thraex (Thracian) in gladiatorial combat. The murmillo was equiped with a crested, visored helmet; long rectangular shield worn on his left arm; ocrea (greave) on his left leg; manica (arm armor) on his right arm; and a short sword.
ProvenanceBetween about 1982 and 2001, acquired by Axel Guttmann (b. 1944 – d. 2001), Berlin; April 28, 2004, posthumous Guttmann collection sale, Christie’s, South Kensington, lot 171, to Jerome M. Eisenberg (dealer), New York; 2005, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jerome M. Eisenberg to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 14, 2005)