The ''Praetorians Relief'' is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

marble relief dated to AD from the Arch of Claudius in Rome, now housed in the

Louvre-Lens The Louvre-Lens is an art museum located in Lens, France, approximately 200 kilometers north of Paris. It displays objects from the collections of the Musée du Louvre that are lent to the gallery on a medium- or long-term basis. The Louvre-Lens ...

. It depicts three soldiers in

high relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

in the foreground, while two others in the background, accompanied by a standard bearer, are made in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

. The standard-bearer holds an aquila standard, where the eagle grasps a thunderbolt in its talons. The soldiers have been identified as Praetorians due to the richness of the apparel, particularly the helmets, the ceremonial dress and oval shields. The figures are wearing calcei and not

caligae Caligae ( Latin; singular ) are heavy-soled hobnailed military sandal-boots that were worn as standard issue by Roman legionary foot-soldiers and auxiliaries, including cavalry. History Caligae (singular ') are heavy-duty, thick-soled o ...

, worn by ordinary soldiers. However, according to

Boris Rankov Nikolas Boris Rankov (born 9 August 1954) is a British professor of Roman history at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is a former rower and current umpire. Early life, education and family Rankov was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, th ...

, "the Attic-style helmets are almost certainly an artistic convention". Rankov suggests that "early in their history the Praetorians were still using the Montefortino-style helmet normal in the legions of the Republic and early

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

". The relief was previously dated to the early 2nd century AD. The lower half of the left-hand figure, portions of the middle two and the heads of all three foreground figures are modern restorations. In 2006 the relief underwent restoration by N. Imbert and A. Méthivier. File:Relief historique dit Relief des Prétoriens --- MBALyon 2018 02.jpg File:Relief historique dit Relief des Prétoriens --- MBALyon 2018 04.jpg File:Relief historique dit Relief des Prétoriens 03.jpg File:Relief historique dit Relief des Prétoriens 02.jpg

Provenance

The Praetorians Relief was once part of the Arch of Claudius, erected in AD 51 to commemorate the conquest of Britain. The relief is mentioned as early as the 16th century. The head of the standard-bearer is depicted in ''Album'' by Pierre Jacques de Reims, on the page dated to 1577. The relief was once in the possession of the

Mattei family 200px, Cortile Mattei di Giove The House of Mattei was one of the most powerful noble families of Rome during the Middle Ages and early modern era, holding high positions in the papal curia and government office. The family amassed significant a ...

, in 1824 it was purchased by the French.

References

{{Commons category, Relief des Prétoriens (Louvre LL 398) Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures of the Louvre 50s in the Roman Empire Marble reliefs Marble sculptures in France Praetorian Guard Roman Empire sculptures Reliefs in France