• r2-68-10
    Fragment of togate statue. (©Archaeological Exploration of Sardis/President and Fellows of Harvard College)

Fragment of Togate Statue

Date
2nd half of 1st C. AD, Roman
Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
S10.002
Material
Marble, Stone
Object Type
Sculpture
Sculpture Type
Draped Man, Human Figure
Site
Sardis
Findspot
Found by Butler; brought to Sardis camp in 1971.
Description

His weight was on the l. leg, the r. leg bent and drawn back slightly. The toga swings in a mighty hold to r. foot with a deeply drilled central hollow down the middle of the body. Cloth, drawn over r. leg, reveals its shape. L. leg has an independent curve system, a kind of parallel swing. At l. of figure are remains of a vertical fold of toga and below it, the upper part of a tied shoe, a calceus. Apparently part of l. leg was pieced on, for there are five vertical hollows at the break, and at back is a small circular hole, diam. 0.01, for pin to hold an additional piece of fold. The back is worked in larger, simpler folds. There are traces of a support (pillar) at back l. with rectangular dowel hole (0.03 by 0.04; D 0.06) at l. buttock.

Workmanship is highly competent. Large and deep drill runs are carefully planned and drill traces are often obliterated. The piece originally had a good finish. Style suggests a date in the 1st C. A.D., perhaps Flavian.

Condition

Coarse-grained local marble. Like other sculpture excavated by Butler, weatherworn to black-gray with black blotches.

Preserved waist to knee on r. side and thigh to top of shoe on l.

Dimensions
H. 1.44; W. 0.80; D. 0.50. About one and a half times lifesize.
Comments
See Also
Bibliography
Author
NHR