The statuary

Loricated male statue, Roman culture. Photo by Nicola Monari, 2009, from Catalogo BBCC RAS

Sculptures represent one of the most important art forms produced by the Roman cultural world. It is an artistic genre that suffered, perhaps more than others, the very strong influence of the Greek cultural sphere, to which Rome turned to draw more or less explicit stimuli and suggestions. In fact, many of the Roman sculptures are nothing more than copies of Greek originals.
The creation of these works took place on commission by representatives of the wealthiest classes of the Roman world who, precisely through the possession in their rich homes of works of art of various kinds (originals or, more often, copies), intended to express their belonging to a specific cultural and economic status.
Even in Sardinia, we have evidence of this specific form of art, which is actually quite small from a quantitative point of view.
In particular, both portraits, one of the most typical forms among those practiced in the Roman environment (used as a powerful propaganda tool), and sculptures representing all-round figures, have been found.
As for the problem of identifying the workshops that created the sculptural works found in Sardinia, the hypothesis that sees them as works of artists working in Rome seems to prevail, at the current state of our knowledge.
More precise information could come from the analysis of the marbles used to create the sculptures found on the island.

Update

25/5/2026 - 13:35