Caestus

Charles Henry Niehaus American
Cast by Gorham Manufacturing Company American

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774

The Munich-trained Niehaus modeled Caestus in Rome, combining the inspiration of ancient sculpture with his penchant for anatomical realism. The work depicts a rigidly posed athlete preparing for a fight by binding leather straps in a crisscross pattern around his forearms. This arrangement of straps, known as a caestus, was the ancient Roman equivalent of the modern day boxing glove. Lead or iron weights were often secured over the knuckles to increase the impact of the blows.

Caestus, Charles Henry Niehaus (American, Cincinnati, Ohio 1855–1935 Grantwood, New Jersey), Bronze, American

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