Panel 3.20 – The production of portrait statuary in Roman cities. An economic factor?


Organiser/Chair:

  • Thoralf Schröder (University of Cologne)

Speakers:

Panel abstract

Portrait statues are one of the most important features of Roman visual culture. They were set up in nearly every province of the Imperium Romanum. So obviously there was a high demand for this kind of sculpture. However, aspects of production and economics rarely played a role in the archaeological discussion of these artefacts.

Based on specific stylistic characteristics scholarship has detected several production centers for different types of sculpture. The best known case certainly is that of the marble sarcophagi. With Rome, Athens and Dokimeion at least three large-scale and exporting production centers have been identified. Needless to say, many more workshops existed and some of them also exported their sarcophagi. For Athens there is evidence that even most of the objects were produced to be exported. Consequently, the “sarcophagi industry” must have played a significant role in the economic landscape of the city.

For other stone artefacts such considerations were rarely undertaken. For portrait statuary it was often tacitly assumed, that they were produced for the local requirements. This might be true for the majority of cases, but there is evidence that at least some prominent workshops produced for export also. Maybe even some sorts of brands existed. There is a small number of “schools” that signed their works more or less frequently in the Imperial period (e.g. Athens or Aphrodisias). Did they also do this in order to advertise their products, and thus for economic reasons? The examination of these aspects of local and export production could therefore provide even more enlightening insights into the role of sculpture as an economic factor. If we furthermore consider the full range of the sculptural production of workshops in a prominent city like Athens (e.g. ideal sculpture, grave and votive reliefs, portraits, sarcophagi etc.), the impact on the economy must have been much larger than acknowledged to date.

In this panel the focus is directed on portrait sculpture, because this was a consistently requested commodity within the Roman empire. Many different questions arise in this context, for example: Which role does the production of portrait statuary play within the urban industrial and economic landscape? How important is export business? Can we determine regional or chronological differences in dealing with these objects? After taking a fresh look at various aspects of this topic we can perhaps re-evaluate the economic role of portrait sculpture within the Roman city.

Paper abstracts

1. Eva Christof (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz)

Financial expense and forms of financing as aspects in the life cycle of Roman portrait statues
One of the highest honours attributed to a person in antiquity is the erection of a portrait statue in a public place in the middle of the city. This kind of statues, mostly manufactured in bronze or marble, usually life sized or slightly bigger, gets elevated by a base, which also bears the honorary inscription telling who the person is. In order to get special information about production costs and about different kinds of financing we should investigate these topics considering the whole lifecycle of a portrait statue. This includes the inspection of social and legal conditions as well as the framework of production. Since the statue prices mentioned in inscriptions in Northern Africa and Italy always mean the total costs, it is necessary to make an assessment of the individual costs, which lead to the total. The price of a portrait statue shall also be compared to other financial expenditures of the Roman elite, in order to get a sense of the related value.

 

2. Cruces Blazquez Cerrato and Santiago Sánchez de la Parra Pérez (University of Salamanca)

Investments of Hispanorroman elites in metal statues: A first costs evaluation from the Epigraphy
It appears that provincial cities, following in the footsteps of Rome, contained a large number of statues. They are crucial to understanding the history of Rome. This sculptural field has recently begun to be explored from new perspectives.
The local elite, thirsty for protagonism in political and administrative city institutions turned to the donation of infrastructure and ornamental elements as a tool of propaganda. Placed in public and private spaces, they had dedicatory inscriptions stating the incentive and cost.
Epigraphic documentation constitutes the starting point of this paper and its focus is the study of Hispanic inscriptions wherein the financial investment of gold and silver statues is referenced. The formulas ex argenti libris and ex argenti pondo are recurring and they allude to the weight in pounds of the silver contained in the statues followed by those epigraphs. Comparing the weight in pounds contained in the statues, and taking into account the fluctuating prices of the precious metal, we have drawn some interesting conclusions regarding the economic value of those donations in Hispania. We have found that there were stages in which the donation of statues was more prevalent than other acts of evergetism. The geographic distribution of the inscriptions suggests a strong relationship between those donations and urban and economic development.

"Investments of Hispano-Roman Elites in Metal Statues: A First Costs Evaluation according to Epigraphy" (Fulltext)

 

3. Panagiotis Konstantinidis, Marios Mylonas and Stylianos Katakis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

Economic and commercial aspects of portrait statuary from the city of Epidauros and the sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas and Asklepios
The present paper aims to outline the preliminary conclusions concerning the commercial and economic aspects of portrait statuary in the city-state of Epidauros and its dependant sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas and Asklepios during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
By taking into account both the epigraphical testimonies (esp. inscribed statue bases) and the extant sculptures from the region (including new finds), the paper attempts to explore the economic and commercial parameters of honorific statuary, such as the amount and type of public treasury expenses or the individual costs for the commission of sculptural monuments. The study will also examine the extent of imports of ready-made works from leading artistic centers and issues concerning: a) itinerant artists, b) the production of local workshops, c) the marble trade in the area, d) the second lives of statuary monuments.
The paper draws upon the ongoing research program regarding the sculptural production of the city of Epidauros and its renowned sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas and Asklepios, undertaken by the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Athens.

"Economic and Commercial Aspects of Portrait Statuary from the City of Epidauros and the Sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas and Asklepios (146 BC–3rd century AD)" (Fulltext)

 

4. Dimitrios Ath. Kousoulas and Ioannis Myserlis (Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie)

The cost of renovating an ancient temple in the Roman Period: The case of Metroon
Among the most interesting aspects of economy in the ancient world is the cost concerning the renovation of a public building, such as a temple. Renovation works were mostly connected to natural disasters, change of the adorned deity or the necessity for different cult practices. Among these frames, the temple of Kybele in Olympia should be examined. The initial architectural phase of the building is dated to the Classical Period, although its exact date is in doubt. The temple was renovated in the Imperial period, emphasizing on its decoration with portrait statues of the Julio-Claudian and Flavian dynasties.
Aim of this paper is to examine the cost that this renovation required, concerning the statues that were made for the temple, as well as their astronomical orientation.

 

5. Alice Landskron (University of Graz)

A Coin from Side and the Distribution of Portraits
The numerous sculptural finds from Side – statues and portraits - are of high quality. Scholars assume that sculptural workshops were established in the harbor town of Side. There is also epigraphic evidence for workshops that were located outside and near the city walls. Before the middle of the 3rd c. AD Side was twice neokoros. A coin of Caracalla features an enthroned Athena on the reverse, holding a bust of the emperor while there is a ship behind the goddess. So it is likely that the emperor Caracalla sent a bust by ship to the temple in Side. Using the example of the Antonine coin, the paper deals with epigraphic and written evidences on the subject and with questions concerning the distribution of imperial portraits:
- Can we take this image on the reverse as an example for the distribution of a prototype of the imperial portrait from the city of Rome?
- Where did the sculptors in Side come from?
- How was the production of imperial portraits organized in Side?
- Can we proof exports or/and imports of portraits and sculptures from and to Side?
- Does the picture on the reverse refer to a gift sent by the emperor on the occasion of the second neokoros?