Here are some shots of my recently completed clay figure Gaius Plinius Secundus”, or Pliny the Elder. He will soon be transported across Florida to the Bronzart foundry, in Sarasota, for molding and casting. Pliny was born in Comum, Italy around 23 AD and was a prolific author, philosopher and historian. His only remaining book, called “Natural History”, a compendium of a vast array of material about the natural world, as known at the time, is considered by many as the first attempt at an encyclopedia and remained a go-to source through the middle ages. Pliny had served in the Legions when young and befriended Vespasian, who later appointed him the commander of the Roman fleet when he became emperor in 69 AD. Pliny’s curiosity got the better of him in August, 79 AD, when he took some boats across the bay of Naples to Stabiae, checking on the well-being of friends, but also to check out the eruption effects he was witnessing. His body was found the following morning, a victim of the pyroclastic gases, most likely, but also possibly by heart attack ( he was overweight and suffered from asthma ). His nephew, whom he adopted and raised, also known as Pliny ( ” the Younger ” ) wrote that he was corpulant, and liked to eat. It is for this reason that I have modeled him plump, attired in part of a military get-up and in the act of dictating. Pliny often used a scribe to record his thoughts and did not sleep well, considering it a waste of valuable time.