Dying Grid

A badly wounded, probably dying ancient warrior. He has slumped on his shield and dropped his sword. Around his neck he has something that has sometimes been interpreted as a rope: he would thus be a prisoner, at the mercy of the victor. In ancient times, he was called the Gladiator, who fell defeated in the arena to the roar of the audience.

But in fact, it might as well be a necklace he's wearing. Necklaces made of more or less precious metals occurred not least in Celtic culture, but have also been found in Sweden and Denmark. They were worn by people of high rank in Iron Age society, especially in the case of gold necklaces.

Also the warrior's powerful body and dignified posture, suggest that the sculpture depicts an enemy that the victor regards with respect. Dying Gaul may have been part of a group executed in Pergamon in present-day Turkey. In the 200nd century BC, Pergamon was an independent state within the Greek-influenced, so-called Hellenistic cultural area, where important art was created.

The dying lattice was very popular during the 1600th and 1700th centuries when it really belonged to the "canon" of the time. The most famous antique copy was owned by the Ludovisi family in Rome and has been in the museum at the Capitol since 1734. The sculpture was copied both in full scale for art academies and English castles, and as letter presses and table decorations in smaller formats. In addition to the purely decorative, the viewer was also gripped by the tragic face of death, depicted by poets such as Lord Byron.