BRONZE TOGATE STATUE, 1-67 CE. PALAZZO MASSIMO ALLE TERME This statue was recently pieced together from 33 fragments found on the riverbed of the Tiber at the level of the C15 ponte Sisto, which was probably built on the foundations of the C4 pons Valentiniani, constructed by Valentinian I and his brother Valens in 365-367 on the site of a yet earlier bridge. Here we see the form of a man in a toga, perhaps a Julio-Claudian emperor, who seems to be coalescing into solidity from the past. Large traces of gilding remain on both the toga and the skin of this figure, who stands in an oratorical pose with his right hand stretched out. The statue's original head is lost, but pieces of a replacement head showing Valentinian I (or Valens) are displayed nearby. This was C4 Rome despoiling a monument of C1 Rome for propaganda purposes.
For #SpoliaSunday, a ghostly #bronze #statue of a #togatus, probably an #emperor, of the C1 CE, found in shards in the #Tiber at the site of the #pons Valentiniani in #Rome, rebuilt as the #PonteSisto: its head had been replaced by a portrait of #Valentinian I, from 365-366 CE. #AncientBluesky 🏺
