The Boxer at rest at the Palazzo Massimo in Rome

The Palazzo Massimo alle Terme is part of the Museo Nazionale Romano, located near the Roma Termini. This is a museum that should not be missed by the pilgrim, but so often is. One of its treasures, perhaps its most important, is the Boxer at Rest. This is a first century BC bronze, derived from the school of the Greek Lysippus.The experts date it from the classical hairstyle and the ”Hellenistic realism of the wounds and the hairy chest.” Matteo Cadario.

An ancient boxer sits down to take a rest. The boxer bears many wounds.His right eye is wounded, his ears are swollen. He has lost his upper teeth, his nose many times broken.Blood runs down his right arm and leg, scars are everywhere.His gloves are classic, “thongs with metal inserts wrapped around a leather glove.” His status is evidenced by the kynodesme or jockstrap tied with a piece of thread over the prepuce, to hide the glans, display of which was considered obscene by the ancient Greeks. Matteo Cadario.

The statue was produced by the lost wax process, the parts welded together.The hair on the chest was produced by the graver, or burin chisel. Copper inserts were used for the lips, nipples, and metal parts of the gloves.Damascened copper was used for the drops of blood. The boxer once had inserted eyes, now lost.The sculptor used a darker alloy of bronze to distinguish the hematoma under the right eye.A red copper was used for the drops of scattered blood.

The statue, a remarkable masterpiece, was fortunately discovered on the slopes of the Quirinal Hill.It perhaps had been hidden from the barbarians in the basement of a private residence.