Statuette of a Lictor

<div class="m-viewer-360 loader" data-cc="1" data-type="modal" data-behavior="viewer360" data-title="Statuette of a Lictor" data-id="assetLibrary"> <img style="" draggable="false" class="m-viewer-360-image" src="" alt="Statuette of a Lictor" /> <div class="m-viewer-360-control"> <input aria-label="Seek" class="input360" type="range" min="0" max="" value="" name="frame" /> </div> </div>

First half of the 1st century

Roman

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 of lictors are known to have been displayed.

Status: On View, Gallery 152
Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Roman
Title: Statuette of a Lictor
Place: Roman Empire (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1 CE–50 CE
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 11.7 × 5 × 3 cm (4 5/8 × 2 × 1 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection
Reference Number: 1980.809
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/61392/manifest.json

Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report: 1980-81 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1981), p. 49.
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 33.
Katharine A. Raff, “Cat. 145 Attachment Depicting a Lictor: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).

Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 156, April 20, 1994 - February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 152, November 11, 2012 - present.

Edward Smith, New York, NY [this and the following according to appraisal by Pick Galleries, Winnetka, IL, copy in curatorial file]; sold to James W. (1913-1990) and Marilynn (1925-2019) Alsdorf by December 5, 1980; given to the Art Institute of Chicago December 18, 1980.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Suggested Terms

On View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Culture

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Publication History

Exhibition History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.