Statue of an unknown Cynic philosopher, Menippus of Gadara?

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This plaster replica was obtained in 1897, molded after a Roman copy of a long-lost Greek original crafted in Hellenistic style dating back to the 3rd century BC, discovered in The Villa of the Antonines (residence of Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Commodus) just outside Rome. The scroll in his right hand is an 18th-century restoration. Menippos of Jordan was born a slave, but he purchased his own freedom and went on to train as a philosopher and critic. Menippos invented a unique genre that squarely focused the attention of the audience, employing the satirical cynic's twist of institutions, conventions, and the ideas of his time, which we recognize today from examples like stand-up comedy and satire on television.