Life-size statue of a man standing in contrapposto, with his weight resting on the right leg. He is depicted in “heroic nudity”, effectively accentuating his powerful, athletically built physique, with the individual muscle groups precisely defined. The nipples are subtly accentuated in relief. A chlamys (cloak) covers the left shoulder, descending along the outer contour of the back, passing from the inside over the slightly bent left forearm, and terminating in a fringed border at knee and calf height. The left hand grasps the hilt of a short sword with a prominent pommel; the sheathed blade is directed backwards, with only its tip visible between the crook of the elbow and the flank of the body. A ring with a seemingly circular bezel adorns the ring finger, clearly visible to the viewer and perhaps serving, beyond its ornamental function, as a symbol of status. The right arm is likewise slightly bent and lowered alongside the body. The right hand is closed, with no indication that it originally held another object. The thumb and index finger touch, with the stone between them left unworked; the remaining fingers are articulated and directed inward in a differentiated manner. The stone between the wrist, hand and thigh was likewise left unworked, presumably to provide support for the otherwise breakage-prone forearm. A tree-trunk support emerges from the outer side of the upper third of the right thigh. It was additionally connected to the left calf by a transverse strut and is only roughly worked on the reverse. This suggests that the statue was originally installed in a niche. This interpretation is further supported by the flattening and reduced sculptural treatment of parts of the back, of the reverse of the chlamys, and of the flank of the falling fold of drapery. The head, now lost, was turned energetically to the left, as indicated by the preserved lower part of the neck, and was probably rendered with portrait features. - The increasingly competitive social climate of the Late Republic, coupled with a growing emphasis on the public representation of personal status and achievement, led to a rise in the number of honorific statues erected in public spaces commemorating distinguished Romans and municipal notables. In seeking appropriate forms of representation, “heroic nudity”, alongside the traditional togated statue, the elaborate equestrian monument, and the cuirassed statue, offered a further means of effectively enhancing the visual presence of the honorand. In devising such sculptural representations, the sculptors, presumably in consultation with those commissioning the statue, drew upon the Greek repertoire of sculptural types and motifs. This is reflected, for example, in the adoption of the athletic physique and the characteristic manner of draping the chlamys (so-called "Schulterbauschtypus"). Moreover, the statue type represented by our torso exhibits clear typological affinities with the so-called Hermes Richelieu. The influence of Hellenistic ruler iconography is equally evident. The depiction of the honorand in “heroic nudity” imparted an idealising quality to the figure, elevating him beyond a strictly naturalistic representation. The choice of this mode of representation, however, was presumably motivated by considerations that went beyond the mere adoption of a visual convention traditionally associated with gods and heroes. The image of the nude, armed male figure, which occurs frequently in Greek art in the form of warriors and athletic figures, was likewise associated with notions of physical prowess, proven ability, and superiority. The underlying agonistic concept, which constitutes a fundamental component of the Greek notion of aretē, could apparently be transferred, during the Late Republic, with particular efficacy to the representational function of honorific statues erected in public spaces. The addition of individualising portrait features ultimately endowed the honorific statue with a personalised character. Moreover, the dedicatory inscription, which our statue was most probably also provided with, enabled viewers, whether local residents or merely passing through, to identify the honorand unequivocally and, in some instances, also provided information concerning his achievements and merits. Among the most striking and, at the same time, earliest examples of this type of honorific statue, adapted by the Romans and newly established within the Roman context, are the distinctly over-life-size marble statues of Gaius Ofellius Ferus (ca. 120–100 BC, erected on the so-called Agora of the Italians at Delos) and the so-called Pseudo-Athlete (ca. 100 BC, found in the House of the Diadoumenos at Delos). The iconographic concept may likewise have originated in the Roman East, where local sculptors continued to work strongly within the Hellenistic tradition and where Roman generals and pro-magistrates sent to the region increasingly came into contact with local rulers and their practices of self-representation. It soon found its way to the Italic cities, as attested by the so-called General from Foruli (Archaeological Museum, Chieti), two statues from Formia (Archaeological Museum, Formia), a portrait statue in the Louvre (inv. no. Ma 1274; formerly identified as Julius Caesar), and the (heavily restored) statue of Marcus Nonius Balbus from Herculaneum (National Archaeological Museum, Naples, inv. no. 6102). Further examples implement the concept of heroic nudity in different ways, for instance through variations in the pose and stance (cf. the so-called General from Capua, Museo Provinciale Campano, Capua; the statue of Gaius Cartilius Poplicola from the Temple of Hercules in Ostia, Museo Ostiense, Ostia, inv. no.  2; and a portrait statue from the theatre at Casinum, Archaeological Museum, Cassino) or in the manner of draping the chlamys (the so-called hip-cloak type; cf. the so-called General of Tivoli, Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome, Inv. 106513; and the funerary statue of the Navarch of Cavenzano, Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo, L’Aquila). In terms of their semantic significance, however, these works likewise belong to this particular group of honorific portrait statues. All of the examples cited here share their over-life-size format. The sword likewise recurs as a characteristic attribute. Preferred settings for such honorific portrait statues included fora, theatres, sanctuaries, and, on occasion, buildings commissioned or renovated by the honorand himself. The statue type represented by our torso continued to be employed throughout the Roman Imperial period and is attested both in imperial portraiture (cf., for example, the two over-life-size statues of Vespasian and Titus from the Sacellum of the Augustales at Misenum, Castello di Baiae, Archaeological Museum) and in private portraiture (cf., for example, a statue from Ostra, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Geneva). It is also attested in funerary relief sculpture as early as the Late Republic (cf., for example, a funerary relief on the Via Appia, on which the honorand is depicted life-size). Little can be said with certainty about the social status and role of the individual represented by our torso, since neither his name nor his merits are known. The fact that a sword as an attribute does not necessarily indicate a military function, but may rather be understood as an element of the “heroic costume”, is demonstrated by the aforementioned statue of Ofellius Ferus. The interpretation of the chlamys as a paludamentum (military cloak) likewise depends, irrespective of the presence of a fringed border, on the specific context - for example, when the figure is additionally equipped with a cuirass or the dedicatory inscription indicates an explicit military connection. In this respect, the individual represented is perhaps best understood as a notable Roman who was publicly honoured on account of his distinguished achievements which warranted the erection of a life-size statue. Head, a major part of the neck, feet including the ankles, and the lower end of the tree-trunk support lost. A narrow fragment at the lower end of the tree-trunk support reattached. Minor superficial chips and abrasions in places.