Need help on identifying please ROMAN FIGURINE

Hello All!

I have what I believe is a Roman figurine but I'm not quite sure so I thought I get some help from the pros. Thank you for taking a look!













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I haven't a clue. I have my doubts that he is suppose to be Roman because on the whole they were mostly clean shaven and don't remember seeing any with hair this long. The ancient Greeks tended to be bearded with longer hair. I'm not sure, but this fellow seems to have only a mustache with long sideburns and lacks a beard? Such people as Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake did enter my mind, but neither of them are portrayed with long shoulder length hair. Also Columbus was clean shaven and didn't have shoulder length hair.

If I had to really guess, I'd probably say it was William "Buffalo Bill" Cody on his way to a costume party.

--- Susan

 

I think there is something written on the bottom step of the statue that is barely visible in in your last pic. I can't make it out. Maybe someone else can.

--- Susan

 

Hi,
Even with the facial hair, my first guess was Columbus.
greg

 

I was thinking conquistador or explorer of some sort but I swear it looks like he's wearing sandals so that's throwing me.

 

It looks like a Celtic/Gallic or Germanic warrior. After contact with the Romans, these warriors would sometimes wear some Roman types of armour, etc.
The tribes that were conquered by the Romans were forced to supply fighters to Roman border legions elsewhere. Usually the first born son of a family, which was very traumatic to farming communities and led to frequent uprisings.

 

The style of the statue looks 1930s, 40s based on material used. Brass, bronzed pot metal on one of those black faux marble stands.

Has to be someone who was well known and probably revered.

He is in shorts, the tunic has no sleeves per se, he is wearing sandals - so he has to be from a warm climate.
He is carrying an axe and a dagger. - Is that a sword scabbard behind the dagger? So he is aggressive. A warrior of sorts.

Can't help more than that. Sorry.

 

I had the same thought as being one of the "barbarian" groups that gave Rome such a hard time for he certainly has the hair style (both head and face) for one of them. Candidates could be Brennus who sacked Rome in the 4th century BC as head of one of the celtic tribes of Gaul.



http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/military-history/battle-of-allia-the-gauls-sack-rome/

Then there were the many Barbarian tribes of the 400s AD that eventually lead to another sacking of Rome. Also a Viking leader was a thought. My trouble with them is that I didn't think any one of them would be that well known to have a decorated item sculptured of them.

Like SIS observed, he appears to be wearing sandals. I wonder if he is supposed to be a relatively modern (1800s to early 1900s) personality of fame that has been immortalized/honored be portraying him in Roman military garb. The facial hair of bushy sideburns and walrus mustache smacks of emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, but he didn't have shoulder length hair.

Edit: >Is that a sword scabbard behind the dagger?<
I think he is slightly leaning on a shield.

--- Susan

 

In Europe are several large bronze 19th century statues of Celtic and Germanic heroes who fought against the Romans, all with walrus moustaches: Vercingetorix in France, Ambiorix in Belgium, Hermann/Arminius in Germany.
And there is the Rembrandt painting of 'the Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis', a Batavian Celtic leader in The Netherlands, with a lot of facial hair.
Although this figurine doesn't look like any of these, it could still be a model of a 19th century statue celebrating a hero like the ones I mentioned.
The tunic and sandals look Roman, but some of these leaders (Claudius Civilis, Hermann) were trained and served as soldiers and officers in Roman legions.

 

Thank you all for the help!

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I have a new question and it might be a dumb one but did any of barbarian tribes wear the faces of their enemy like a mask? I took a negative of the figurine and I see this line going from the back of the head to the face.

Also this figurine is not metal it is like some sort of pottery/ceramic material so I'm not sure why it would look like it's been welded.



FYI for picture Below:
The head seems to be pretty disproportionate to its body.


FYI for picture Below:
The red dots are above what I thought to be lines representing the strings to the facial mask.


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IMO the rough places in the casting are being interpreted as intentional whereas in reality they are just sloppy work that was good enough for the inside of a lamp. Yes if it was intended as a stand-alone work of art they would have finished it more attractively.

 

So they use to cast with pottery as well? Cause it's not metal. Tried to tap it with another item several times but the sound was like something you get from wood or ceramic.

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Also, the only part of the item that is metal are the columns around the figurine. Do you happen to know maybe if there was a company that might have made roman figurines maybe in the 60s 70s or 80s that might have made this?

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Yes an object with as much detail as the little statue, to be mass-produced, would start out as a liquid or clay/putty-like consistency, then be pressed in a multi- piece mold or poured into a rubber mold. It doesn't have to be metal to be molded. Can be little plastic pellets that are heated then pressed into a mold. Your man could be made of wood pulp, also molded to give the desired shape.

 

May be plaster of Paris, aka chalkware, that's been painted. Chalkware decorative objects were popular back when and you might find that the little guy was once sold as a separate item and the lamp-maker bought a bunch to put in his product. Sry if someone already went there, I didn't read all the replies.

 

Here's a clay mold for making chalkware soldiers

https://www.etsy.com/listing/270443901/clay-mold-ww1-french-chalkware-soldier?ref=related-1

 

Thank you so much! Definitely will be stalking you for metalware help. [emoji23]

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