Panel 3.14 – “Craft Economy” and Terracotta Figurines. Approaching systems of production through coroplastic studies


Organiser/Chair:

  • Stephanie Huysecom-Haxhi (CNRS-HALMA - Univ. Lille3)
  • Antonella Pautasso (CNR-IBAM)

External Discussant:

  • Jaimee Uhlenbrock (University of New York)

Panel abstract

Since the first discoveries of the nineteenth century, the coroplastic research has undergone a remarkable evolution. For a long time considered as trinkets, and therefore studied mainly from the point of view of the history of art, terracotta figurines are now studied and published scientifically, according to specific methods of analysis and integrated approaches. Particular attention has been paid in the last twenty years to production techniques and to the reconstruction of the operational sequence, as well as to the human factor behind the crafted object. Archaeologists also have had the benefit of several ethno-anthropological studies that provide thought-provoking theoretical frameworks for an understanding of the economic and social dimensions of craft production in antiquity. The economic approach to coroplastic production encompasses different aspects, such as: — The acquisition and the processing of the clay. — The techniques, sequences and organization of the production. — Trade, diffusion and distribution. — Demand or consumption and their effect on the production. The proposed panel aims to discuss the economic and social facets of the coroplastic production through some examples addressing one or more of the abovementioned aspects and concerning the Greek world from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period.

 

Paper abstracts

1. Rebecca Miller Ammerman (Colgate University, New York)

Toward the Study of the Production of Figured Terracottas from Local Clays at Metaponto
The paper presents an overview of studies conducted on the clays and ceramic materials from two sites of ceramic production at Metaponto. The research aims to locate the sources of clay at each site — Sant Angelo Vecchio and Pantanello — and to identify, in a systematic manner, the properties of the clays. At the same time, the clays are compared to the ceramic fabrics of objects found and produced at each site. The comparative study focuses on several questions. First, to what extent do the fired fabrics differ from the raw clays? Second, what is the degree of variation between the clays found at different sites in the region? Third, to what extent do the fabrics vary between different kinds of ceramic materials, ranging from roof tiles to terracotta figurines? In effect, we have undertaken a methodological study whose aim is to develop a more comprehensive approach to understanding the exploitation of local clays in the production of a full range of ceramic materials including figured terracottas.

 

2. Antonella Pautasso (Instituto per i Beni Archeologici e Monumentali (IBAM)) / Vanessa Chillemi, Ambra Pace and Lighea Pappalardo (CNR - Italian National Research Council) 

Neither kilns nor moulds. Indirect evidences for the reconstruction of a coroplast workshop at Katane
The extraordinary discovery, which occurred in 1959 during an excavation of a sewer duct in the center of Catania (ancient Katane), brought to light one of the most important votive complexes of the western Mediterranean, connected from the moment of its finding with the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore. Beyond a large amount of imported and locally produced pottery, the deposit contained more than 10,000 both imported and locally produced terracotta figurines, from the beginning of the 6th to the late 4th century BC.
In 2011, a research project aimed to the integral publication of the coroplastic material has been undertaken by a team of researchers which thus far have almost completed the study of the Archaic coroplastic material.
The present paper intends to demonstrate how the study of the production technique of both mould and handmade terracotta figurines together with the stylistical analysis, can provide crucial information to identify one or more coroplastic workshops, even in the absence of kilns, moulds and tools.
The analysis of some technical features which presuppose specific craft procedures together with the results of the archaeometric analyses have provided the indirect evidences to suggest that a large group of figurines originated in the same local workshop. The analysis of the manifacture technique allowed to make some assumptions on the sequence and organization of the production, the possible presence of apprentices and some stylistic choises.

"Né fornaci né matrici" (Fulltext)

 

3. Stéphanie Huysecom-Haxhi (CNRS)

Les terres cuites figurées de Kirrha (Phocide) du VIe au IVe siècles avant J.-C. : caractérisation des productions et définition du faciès de l’atelier coroplathique kirrhéen
Les fouilles entreprises de 1936 à 1938 à Kirrha, au lieu-dit “La Magoula”, par M. Jannoray, de H van Effenterre et de J. Roger sous l’égide de l’Ecole française d’Athènes ont mis au jour un large dépôt constitué de milliers de fragments de terres cuites figurées et de vases, en particulier miniature, datés pour la grande majorité de la fin du vie au début du ive siècles. À côté des productions directement importées de la région de Corinthe, la présence de types, en particulier de protomés et de protomés-buste féminines, aux caractéristiques stylistiques originales invite à supposer l’existence à Kirrha même d’ateliers coroplathiques qui ne se contentaient pas d’importer des types étrangers, dont certains pouvaient être reproduits localement sur une ou plusieurs générations grâce au procédé du surmoulage, mais qui étaient également créateurs. Aucun vestige d’ateliers n’ayant encore été découvert, notre connaissance de ces derniers ne repose donc plus que sur les productions mises au jour. Dans le cadre de ce workshop, on verra ainsi tout ce que l’analyse des terres cuites, depuis leur prise en charge en 2013, peut d’ores et déjà apporter à la caractérisation des ateliers kirrhéens et à la compréhension de leur fonctionnement à l’époque de leur apogée, au ve siècle.

"Les terres cuites figurées de Kirrha du VIe au IVe siècles avant J.-C." (Fulltext)

 

4. Nancy Serwint (Arizona State University)

The Terracotta Sculpture from Ancient Marion: Evidence for the Coroplasts’ Craft
The ubiquitous presence of clay allowed for that material to emerge as the most common medium for sculpture in the Mediterranean world during antiquity. With objects ranging from miniature to colossal, the results spanned the spectrum from the sublime to the banal with figurines and statues reflecting a breadth of aesthetic appeal. The artisans who were responsible for such a disparate corpus certainly varied in their artistic capacities, but what proved to be a commonality was a range of technical strategies that could be employed with varied results. This paper will focus on the variety of production techniques that were employed by coroplasts working in the eastern Mediterranean during the first millennium BC. The gamut of manufacturing processes that included hand fashioning, the use of the potter’s wheel, and the implementation of the mold will be discussed from the point of view of tactics and stratagems that responded to the demands of an enthusiastic market. Emphasis will be placed on the evidence that has emerged from excavation of the ancient cities of Marion and Arsinoe on the island of Cyprus where an unprecedented number of terracotta sculpture has been recovered. The material is particularly valuable because it not only emanates from an area where local production has been confirmed but also allows for tracking production over time from the Archaic through the Hellenistic periods.

"The Terracotta Sculpture from Ancient Marion: Evidence of the Coroplast’s Craft" (Fulltext)

 

5. Gina Salapata (Massey University)

Does size matter in the terracotta serial production of dedications?
Moulds made possible the mass production of numerous inexpensive dedications in the Greek world. The use of derivative moulds in terracotta serial production inevitably results in products that are both smaller and less clearly defined than their prototypes since details are eliminated or simplified. What factors may have influenced the choice of smaller objects by dedicants? Was it simply a matter of lower cost or could there also have been other considerations such as portability, suitability for mass dedications and groupings, or even availability of display space? Furthermore, the symbolic value of dedications, for example, as tokens of participation in a cult activity, would not have been affected by size.
And did size matter to the recipient divinity? I argue that small size did not decrease the perceived efficacy or religious significance of an offering. In fact, reduced size would have highlighted the most important features, those that communicate the messages inherent in the form of the dedication.
This paper addresses aspects of the economic and social dimension of coroplastic serial production, primarily focusing on a long series of mould-made plaques (6th-4th c BC) from the sanctuary of Agamemnon and Kassandra in Lakonia. These plaques show a wide spectrum of quality and size, ranging from large, detailed images to small and simplified versions.

"Does Size Matter in the Serial Production of Terracotta Offerings?" (Fulltext)

 

6. Sven Kielau (Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim)

Production and distribution of terracottas in Western Asia Minor: demand and supply in Hellenistic times
In Hellenistic times, Pergamon was - probably - one of the centers of a diversified terracotta figurine production. This can at least be supposed, according to the many terracotta findings in several excavations in Pergamon and its region. The output was notably diversified, both in themes and types. Comparisons to the sepulchral figurines found in Myrina and the many so-called grotesques found in Smyrna reveal differences as well as similarities: The style is in a pan-hellenic way more or less related, but some themes are significantly restricted to the intended use (sirenes and nikes for sepulchral use, more elaborated art pieces presumably in houses). The paper aims to examine and outline what can be said about the regional Terracotta production, the demand for such products and the distribution of certain figurines in Western Asia Minor, focussing on the distribution paths of Pergamene figurines.

 

7. Marina Albertocchi

Terracotta figurines at Iasos, Karia: Some observations on production and consumption
The finds from the investigations conducted in the so-called Thesmophorion at Iasos have revealed a framework of offerings dating from the middle of the sixth to at least the end of the IV century B.C. Among these, terracotta statuettes are the largest core along with lamps and hydriai. Besides some protomai, it prevails the type of a standing female figure with different attributes (mainly piglets, flowers and patera). Very common are also the statuettes representing an hydrophoros, sometimes with a child. It should be noted moreover the presence of male bearded offerers, a specific Carian type.
Terracotta figurines from the sacred area have been presented in a preliminary manner by D.Levi and later by W.Johannowsky, A.Romualdi and F.Berti: these publications, however, concerned in particular the iconographic aspect, following a traditional approach in this research field, and the significance of the images in relationship with the cult practised in the sanctuary.
The communication points instead to frame the assemblage of the terracottas discovered in a regional context, where the features of the local production can be easily understood from the technical, as well as iconographic, point of view; is moreover significant to investigate the connections with the coroplastic productions of the adjacent areas such as Halikarnassos, Kaunos and Theangela.

"Statuette fittili a Iasos (Caria): alcune osservazioni su produzione e consumo" (Fulltext)

 

8. Maria Adele Ibba (University of Cagliari)

Modelli greci nella coroplastica della Sardegna tardo punica e romana (IV-II secolo a.C.)
Nel 1938, a Cagliari, fu scoperto un edificio templare di età tardo repubblicana la cui planimetria, del tipo dei santuari su terrazza di area centro-italica, era fino ad allora sconosciuta in Sardegna. Lo scavo evidenziò, oltre all'edificio templare associato a una cavea teatrale, un pozzo ricolmo di una notevole quantità di materiale fittile tra cui spiccava un consistente numero di frammenti relativi a circa cinquanta matrici per coroplastica, oltre a una ventina di esemplari di terrecotte figurate. In particolare, le matrici erano destinate alla produzione di thymiateria, di placchette, di applique, di piccole figure umane, divine, animali o di esseri fantastici e, novità per l'ambito sardo, di busti in maggioranza femminili. Va rilevato che in nessun caso si è riscontrata una corrispondenza tra le matrici e le terrecotte figurate. La varietà di argille utilizzate per la loro realizzazione, inoltre, fanno ipotizzare diverse provenienze. La presenza tra le matrici di iconografie che al momento trovano confronto con il mondo greco occidentale, più precisamente con quello siceliota e magno greco, pone il problema se si sia in presenza di importazioni o di derivazioni da positivi importati che, in ogni caso, sono stati poi riprodotti localmente. Partendo dall'analisi degli aspetti tecnologici di tali materiali l'intervento si focalizzerà sui vettori commerciali e culturali attraverso i quali i modelli greci, a cui essi sembrano riferirsi, siano giunti in Sardegna.

"Modelli greci nella coroplastica della Sardegna tardo punica e romana (IV–II secolo a.C.): il caso delle matrici dal santuario di Via Malta a Cagliari" (Fulltext)

 

9. Geltrude Bizzarro

La coroplastica votiva del santuario settentrionale di Pontecagnano: L'evoluzione dell'artigianato locale in risposta alle esigenze devozionali
Le terrecotte votive del santuario settentrionale di Pontecagnano costituiscono un repertorio variegato ma coerente e di grande interesse per la quantità di informazioni che restituisce sui caratteri dell’artigianato artistico locale e sulle scelte operate dai devoti nel corso del tempo.
Le statuette più antiche, risalenti alla prima metà del VI sec. a.C., erano d’importazione, ma già dalla seconda metà del secolo la richiesta del mercato dei devoti diede impulso all’attività degli artigiani locali che elaborarono serie originali che adattavano tipi coroplastici allogeni ai caratteri peculiari della ritualità del santuario. La marca caratteristica del santuario picentino, il sacrificio del porcellino da latte, raffigurato nei primi tipi permane nell’iconografia dei fittili più recenti e contribuisce a connotare il regime delle offerte dell’area sacra di un sito di frontiera che partecipa al più complesso fenomeno religioso etrusco, all’interno del quale l’aspetto demetriaco del rito assolveva alla funzione di mediare esigenze affini a quelle esaudite dai santuari tesmoforici dell’Occidente greco, generando manifestazioni del culto del tutto originali.

"La coroplastica votiva del santuario settentrionale di Pontecagnano: l’evoluzione dell’artigianato locale in risposta alle esigenze devozionali" (Fulltext)

 

10. Maria Elena Gorrini (Università degli Studi di Pavia)

Terracottas from Cappadocia
Since 2011, an archaeological mission of ISAW and Pavia University have started excavating a tell at Kınık Höyük, Southern Cappadocia (http://www.kinikhoyuk.org ). This region played a strategic role from Prehistory up to modern times due to its geographical position on the route connecting the Central Anatolian plateau to Cilicia, through the Taurus passes, and far beyond to Syria and Mesopotamia. Despite its importance, so far the province of Niğde has received little attention from scholars, particularly as regards the Bronze and Iron Ages. With a view to bridging this gap, our team from the University of Pavia carried out an archaeological survey in the region between 2006 and 2009, followed by a 10 year project of excavations. From two operations in the mound a series of fragmentary terracotta statuettes, mostly from Hellenistic times, has been recovered. Most of them represent birds of prey, but bovines, lions and horses are attested as well. A minor number depict female figurines, possibly deities. The purpose of this paper will be to present them, in order to address questions such as their production areas (and commercial routes involved), production techniques, iconographies and fonction.

"Terracottas from Kınık Höyük, Southern Cappadocia: a Preliminary Overview" (Fulltext)