The Roman Boxer
A Masterpiece of Greek Bronze Sculpture

31.01.2008 to 16.03.2008

Altes Museum

For six weeks, the life-size portrait of a fist-fighter in sitting position, one of the most famous bronze statues from ancient times, will be on show at the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities) in Berlin's Altes Museum. The Museo Nazionale Romano at the Palazzo Massimo in Rome has generously agreed to the loan of this work, an original late Hellenistic statue from the first century BC and one of its main public attractions.

The statue was found in 1885 on the Quirinal Hill in Rome; it may have been part of the furnishings of the Emperor Constantine's spas located in the area. In the 1980s, comprehensive restoration of the sculpture revealed fascinating details of the ancient surface, such as the many scars and blood drops on the boxer's face.

Around twenty objects from the Antikensammlung's own collection round off the picture: vases, bronze statuettes, and marble heads allow a fascinating insight into 1000 years of athletics in ancient times.