This nude torso of a young man, which is one of many such sculptures that are extant, was created during the Roman imperial period. The original bronze statue, which is now lost, was probably
created in the !fth century BCE by a disciple of the renowned Greek sculptor Polykleitos from the Classic Greek period. One of Polykleitos’s most famous works was the Doryphoros (a spearbearer),
which he sculpted in bronze but is now known only from marble copies. Such marble copies of famous Greek bronze
statues were a very popular cultural phenomenon in the Roman Empire.