Boxer at Rest

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The bronze Boxer at Rest, also known as the Terme Boxer or Quirinal Boxer, is a Hellenistic Greek sculpture of a sitting nude boxer in repose. He still wears his caestus, a type of leather hand-wrap, even though he's resting after a match. The statue has been given various dates within the period of 330 to 50 BCE. Excavated in Rome in 1885, it's now on display at the National Museum of Rome, housed in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. The Boxer at Rest is one of the finest examples of bronze sculptures that have survived from the ancient world; such survivors are rare because they were easily melted down and transformed into new objects. The work comes from a period in Greek art where there's a movement away from idealized heroic depictions of the body and youth, and an exploration of emotional themes and greater realism. The statue was unearthed in Rome in 1885 on the south slope of the Quirinal Hill near the ancient Baths of Constantine. It's believed to have been displayed there originally. The sculpture was deliberately buried in late antiquity, possibly to preserve it from barbarian invasions that ravaged Rome in the fifth century AD. The broad-shouldered, lanky pugilist is shown seated, resting after a fight. His gloves are highly detailed and identify him as a boxer. The athlete's many head wounds are consistent with ancient boxing techniques, where the head was the main target. Copper inlays indicate blood, heightening the effect. The boxer's right eye is swollen, his nose is broken, and he breathes through his mouth probably because his nostrils are blocked by blood. His scarred lips are sunken, suggesting missing teeth. The ears, swollen from blows, indicate possible hearing loss. Drops of blood from wounds on his head have trickled down his right arm and leg. Wear on the foot and hands suggests that they were touched frequently in antiquity, possibly in veneration. Because the iconography is related to statues of Herakles sculpted by Lysippos in the fourth century BC, the Boxer at Rest may have been meant to celebrate a mythical or real boxer who was glorified for his endurance and courage. Scholars have long debated the date of the statue, placing it anywhere from the middle of the fourth century BC to the middle of the first century BC. The sculpture is an exceptional work in bronze from the Hellenistic period (323–31 BC) and is of outstanding artistry. This model was constructed using two types of 3D scanning from two variants of the sculpture. Structured Light scanning was used for a plaster copy of the sculpture at The University of Cambridge's Faculty of Classics, and photogrammetry for the original at the Museo delle Terme in Rome. These two sections of scan data were merged and made printable by Vilius Juodziukynas.