The restoration of the Dacian statues
Two masterpieces of Roman art in the Boboli Gardens
The restoration of the two grand statues of the Dacians, absolute masterpieces from the early 2nd century A.D. that have dominated the monumental entrance to Boboli since the early 19th century, has just completed. The two works consist of parallelepiped-shaped plinths with four reliefs from the Roman period made of microcrystalline white marble and two sculptures depicting Dacian prisoners (Dace pileatus and Dace Capillatus) with their bodies made of red porphyry and faces, hands and plinths made of white marble.
The restoration has revealed the dazzling purple splendour of the porphyry and marble of the two giants that were most likely part of the sumptuous triumphal decoration of the Forum of Trajan in Rome. Fabrizio Paolucci, archaeological curator and Flavia Puoti, official restorer at the Uffizi Galleries, recount the stages of this delicate work in the video produced by the Digital Strategies Area.
