A rare Roman terracotta statuette depicting a secutor gladiator pierced by a trident. The artefact dates to the 2nd century AD and is part of a private English collection.
The secutor was a class of gladiators known in Italian as "insecutore," or more simply, pursuer, whose opponent in the arena was usually a gladiator of the retiarius type, armed with a trident and net.
The secutor, after attempting to avoid his opponent's net, tried to press and attack, relying on his heavier armour, which protected him almost entirely from the blows of the retiarius's trident. The retiarius, with less armour, exploited his agility to evade and counterattack.
The gladiator in the exhibit shows the moment when the trident, or rather the opponent's fuscina, pierces the metal visor of his helmet. With his left hand, after dropping his large shield, the scutum, he tries to remove the trident.
The secutor wears a unique smooth ovoid helmet, with a visual groove different from the more common two-hole one, without a crest, designed to avoid providing any grip for the retiarius's net, and he holds the gladius, the famous sword.
The gladiator also wears a balteus, a type of belt to hold the subligaculum, a short garment.