Column of Trajan, Rome, Cast of the head of a Dacian man looking down and to his right.
Plaster cast. 154 mm x 156 mm x 55 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: Paul Highnam.
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Cast of the head of a Dacian man looking down and to his right
From: Column of Trajan, Rome
RA Collection: Art
This head from the Column of Trajan belongs to a figure of a Dacian. He is crouching at the river bank and offering aid to a fellow Dacian on horseback who is having difficulty crossing the river. He wears a cloak fastened on the right shoulder by a round pin.
The scene refers to a Dacian attack in the winter of 101-102 (the First Dacian War) which created serious problems for the Romans.
The Column of Trajan was located in the Forum of Trajan (dedicated AD 113) in Rome and has remained standing since its original construction. It is made of three elements: a base with interior chambers; a column shaft; and a bronze statue of the Emperor on top, now replaced by St. Peter. A narrative frieze, full of figures and contextual detail, is carved around the exterior of the column in low relief; it recounts the two campaigns which Trajan led against the Dacians in AD 101-102, and 105-106.
The Royal Academy has 52 casts of heads in the form of medallions, and once had as many as 113 such casts. 105 of them may have come from the mid-18th c. collection of the Duke of Richmond and another eight came from the Thomas Lawrence collection. The Academy also has three casts of architectural details from the base.
Object details
154 mm x 156 mm x 55 mm
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