🌊 SURF 'N TURF 🏝️
-THE BORACAY ISLAND LIFE-
The hand of a lost Roman bronze statue of a pugil (boxer) 1st Century AD.
This powerful fragment preserves the hand of a Roman pugilist, tightly wrapped in a caestus—a brutal boxing glove made of leather and wicker, sometimes reinforced to increase impact. The hand once belonged to a full bronze statue, now lost, and was discovered in the Roman Theatre of Verona.
Boxing in the Roman world was a violent and prestigious spectacle, inherited from Greek athletics but intensified under Roman taste. The caestus turned the fist into a weapon, and victories were won through endurance, pain, and resilience rather than speed alone. By emphasizing the wrapped hand, the sculptor highlighted the very instrument of violence and fame.
Bronze statues were frequently melted down in antiquity, making surviving fragments like this exceptionally valuable. Even in isolation, the clenched hand conveys tension, force, and controlled brutality, capturing the essence of Roman competitive sport. A single hand—yet enough to feel the weight of the blow, two thousand years later.
"Pure signal, no noise"
Credits Goes to the respective
Author ✍️/ Photographer📸
🐇 🕳️
The hand of a lost Roman bronze statue of a pugil (boxer) 1st Century AD.
This powerful fragment preserves the hand of a Roman pugilist, tightly wrapped in a caestus—a brutal boxing glove made of leather and wicker, sometimes reinforced to increase impact. The hand once belonged to a full bronze statue, now lost, and was discovered in the Roman Theatre of Verona.
Boxing in the Roman world was a violent and prestigious spectacle, inherited from Greek athletics but intensified under Roman taste. The caestus turned the fist into a weapon, and victories were won through endurance, pain, and resilience rather than speed alone. By emphasizing the wrapped hand, the sculptor highlighted the very instrument of violence and fame.
Bronze statues were frequently melted down in antiquity, making surviving fragments like this exceptionally valuable. Even in isolation, the clenched hand conveys tension, force, and controlled brutality, capturing the essence of Roman competitive sport. A single hand—yet enough to feel the weight of the blow, two thousand years later.
"Pure signal, no noise"
Credits Goes to the respective
Author ✍️/ Photographer📸
🐇 🕳️