This object is half of a two-part mould or mould stone. It was used for the serial production of small-format gladiator figures of the paegniarius type, presumably made of lead. The mould is unique.
The paegniarius belongs to a class of Roman gladiators who used a whip. The piece is very interesting because it has caused perhaps one of the greatest errors in the history of research on gladiator types, having been traditionally identified as a laquearius since the late 19th century. Lafaye's remarks (his entry in the Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines, ed. by Daremberg and Saglio) had an immense influence on later gladiatorial research, so that the idea spread that this piece represented a laquearius (roper). This view has recently been refuted by Alfonso Manas. (AVS)
Former August Kestner Collection, Rome
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