Inv. Scu 2099

The statue lacks of head and arms, which, as testified by the cylindrical pivot housings, were most likely carved separately and then mounted; probably in white marble, they would have stood out chromatically from the red porphyry body.

On account of the rarity and preciousness of the material, it can be suggested that the statue originally had featured either an emperor or a member of the imperial family.
Since the style of the toga is reminiscent of models in fashion between the late 1st century AD and the early decades of the 2nd century AD, it seems reasonable to associate the statue with Trajan, Hadrian‘s successor, or another member of the Imperial family.
The stylistic affinities with the porphyry colossal statues of Dacians today in the Boboli Gardens in Florence, but undoubtedly of Roman provenance, suggests a Trajanic date.
A provenance from the Trajan’s Forum is possible though not verifiable. Once standing at the bottom of the staircase leading to the Church of the Aracoeli, in 1818 the statue was moved to the Atrio of the Palazzo Nuovo.