Hand of Constantine, 1995

The remains of the Colossal Statue of Constantine I in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitoline Hill are from the Basilica of Constantine in the Forum Romanum.

The Basilica of Constantine housed the offices of the Prefect of the City, the highest ranking imperial official during the reign of Constantine the Great, and the colossal statue stood in the W. apse of the basilica.

Constantine appeared seated, with a globe in one hand and the other hand raised in salute. The statue was an acrolith. Only the head, the lower arms, the hands and the feet were of marble. The rest of the statue, the parts covered by clothing, was probably made as a wooden frame covered with bronze or plaster. It seems the statue wore a crown or some other headgear, but nothing remains.

The pieces of the statue were found in 1486 in the W. apse of the basilica, where it stood in antiquity. They have been in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori since.

text from: sights.seindal.dk/sight/921_Colossal_Statue_of_Constantin...