Gladiator, £17.99
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Height: 5.000 cm (approx.)
Comarmond Collection
GR 1851.8-13.175
Greece and Rome
Chariot-racing in ancient Rome
Ivory bust of a charioteer
This figure is dressed in the thick, horizontally-banded tunic that charioteers wore as protective clothing.
The passion for chariot-racing evidently spanned all sections of Roman society, from the ordinary citizens who regularly filled the 200,000-capacity Circus Maximus, to the emperor himself. Teams were sponsored by private individuals, by the emperor, and by the 'factions' or supporters clubs. These passionately committed groups of supporters were known by their colours - Blues, Reds, Greens and Whites. According to the biographer Suetonius, the emperor Caligula (reigned AD 37-41) 'supported the Green faction with such ardour that he would often dine and spend the night in their stables and, on one occasion, gave the driver Eutychus presents worth 20,000 gold pieces.' (Caligula 55, 2f.).
It has been suggested that this is a portrait of the emperor Caracalla (reigned AD 198-217) as a charioteer.