Statuette of a Lictor
First half of the 1st century
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
11.7 × 5 × 3 cm (4 5/8 × 2 × 1 1/8 in.)
Classification
statuette
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
61392
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The official attendants and bodyguards of Roman magistrates known as lictors were usually citizens of low birth, such as freedmen (former slaves). Typically, as seen here, a lictor wore a toga and carried in his left hand the bundle of elm or birch rods tied with a red belt that symbolized the magistrates’ executive power. This statuette likely belonged to a larger historical relief depicting a ceremonial scene, perhaps on the breastplate of a bronze statue of a horse, where similar statuettes o...
About the Artist
Ancient Roman
The artists attributed to "Ancient Roman" in museum collections represent the anonymous craftsmen who produced the vast output of sculpture, frescoes, mosaics, and reliefs defining Roman visual culture from the Republic (c. 509–27 BCE) to the late Empire (c. 395 CE). Individual identities remain elusive, as Roman makers were typically viewed as skilled tradesmen—often enslaved Greeks or provincial...