Fighting or Borghese Gladiator, Roger Williams Park - Providence, RI
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NorStar
N 41° 47.203 W 071° 24.825
19T E 299426 N 4628912
The bronze sculpture supposedly of a gladiator in front of the natural history museum is an exact replica of a marble sculpture in the Paris Musée du Louvre.
Waymark Code: WMZ8BR
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 09/27/2018
Views: 0
In Providence, in front of the City of Providence Natural History Museum, is a bronze sculpture that is a copy of the marble Borghese Gladiator in the Musee du Lovre in Paris.
To get to the location, from I-95, go south of Providence to the exit for Rhode Island Route 10. Go east on Route 10 to the entrance on the left about 3/4 mile from the exit. Follow the main road to an intersection just beyond the entrance to the zoo. Follow this road to the museum and statue on the right.
The statue is made of bronze and is of a full-size figure in a kind of crouch or lunge position. He is nude, with maybe something covering the back of his left arm. The sculpture is set on a stone pedestal. There is a plaque on the base. The plaque has the following text:
"The Fighting Gladiator
Given to the City of Providence in 1891 by George Wilkinson, Superintendent of the Gorham Manufacturing Company, this statue is a copy of an original at the Louvre in Paris.
The Fighting Gladiator was restored in 1988 by the Providence Parks Department."
Above, on the base of the sculpture, is the following text:
"Presented by Geo. Wilkinson 18904 Gorham Mfg Co Founders."
On the base of the sculpture on the back is the following text:
"Fighting Gladiator From the Antique"
According to the sculpture, all may not as it seems. The sculpture is probably not of a gladiator, but of a warrior swordsman rising up to fight a mounted enemy. One conjecture is that this figure is of Achilles fighting the Amazon, Pentheslia. It was found during Roman times and was held in a collection at the Borghese Villa (from which the name Borghese is attached to the sculpture). In 1807, it came to the Louvre in Paris. Since then, many copies have been made and distributed.
Where is original located?: Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Where is this replica located?: Front of City of Providence Natural History Museum, Providence, RI, USA
Who created the original?: Agasias, son of Dositheus
Internet Link about Original: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borghese_Gladiator
Year Original was Created (approx. ok): c. 100 BCE
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