This sculpture representing a larger-than-life man was found during excavations conducted in 1879 in the area of the nymphaeum of the Horti Liciniani, commonly known as the Temple of Minerva Medica, and had been used as filling material for a wall that closed off a niche in the building. Its original position was probably inside one of the niches.
That he represents a magistrate can be guessed from the flap of cloth he holds in his raised right hand, from the scrolls placed on the ground near his right foot and from the clothing - two tunics and a toga crossed several times - and from the shoes.
The flap of cloth he holds in his raised right hand indicates that he is kicking off the circus games. In the facial features (very characterful) there is a resemblance to Quintus Aurelius Simmachus, a senator who had held important political office. Simmachus, who was also a famous orator and writer, lived at the end of the 4th century AD, the period to which this sculpture dates.