Statue of a man

A gilded bronze statue was found while the foundations for Kazina were being dug in 1836. It became known as the ‘Emonian citizen’. The hollow statue is supported by an iron pole attached to a rectangular stone pedestal. It is missing the lower part of the right hand. The statue is of a young man in a toga and a tunic, visible at the chest and right shoulder as well as upper arm. The body is modelled on statues made in Rome, while the head shows features of provincial art. The ‘classical’ Roman toga and the typical characteristic of the head, especially the hairstyle, indicate the dating of the statue to the first half of the second century AD, or more precisely to its first three decades. A toga at that time was a sign of Roman citizenship. The ‘Emonian citizen’ is a rare surviving example of a nearly full-sized non-public (i.e. non-imperial) monumental portrait. It graced the grave of a wealthy Emonian patrician buried near the entrance to the northern Emonian graveyard. The grave was unprofessionally excavated, so little is known of its original appearance except that the burial plot was presumably walled.