Panel 3.26 – Serial production

Organisation/Vorsitz:

• Frank Rumscheid (Universität Bonn)

Vortragende:

• Elisabeth Trinkl (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz)
  Serial production in Classical Greece: Attic figural vases
• Harald Schulze (Archäologische Staatssammlung)
  Blei als Material für die Serienproduktion von Votivgaben
• Dagmara Wielgosz-Rondolino (University of Warsaw)
  Serial production or individual orders? Palmyrene sculpture from the 1st to the 3rd century AD
• Eleonora Cussini (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia)
  Serial production or individual orders? Palmyrene inscriptions on sculpture from the 1st to the 3rd century AD

In recent years, the study of ancient construction has focused more and more on setting the different aspects of building into an economic framework. Not only construction processes and the organization of building sites are now examined in more detail, but also the quantification of building materials, labour-time and number of employed workmen (skilled and unskilled) are receiving increasing attention due to their potential to shed light on the scale of a building project and its impact on the overall economy. The goal of this panel is to bring together different approaches to the study of building economy, ideally from a wide range of chronological contexts.

1. Elisabeth Trinkl (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz)

Serial production in Classical Greece: Attic figural vases
The mass production of pottery is well known at least through the production of Megarian bowls and Terra Sigillata. Nevertheless, much earlier the Athenian pottery workshops of the 6th and 5th century tried to produce series of nearly identical vases in the shape of heads of humans and animals, manufactured by the use of moulds. Especially in the Attic figured production we usually analyse the individual hand of a potter or a painter. Concerning the figural vases this is not an issue – the only exception could be the initiator(s) of the series.
The use of the mould obviously indicates an intentional serial production. Nevertheless, based on the preserved samples the number of single items of each series was rather small. Why was this new production process initiated at all, yet also ceased only a short time later in Greece: maximisation of profits, lack of adequately trained personnel, temporary fashion? The paper will focus on the rise and the fall of the mould-made figural pottery in Athens, especially tackling the relatively small number of items of each series in comparison with later mould-made pottery, and investigate the geographical and chronological distribution, the functionality and the interpretation of the depicted heads.

2. Harald Schulze (Archäologische Staatssammlung)

Blei als Material für die Serienproduktion von Votivgaben
Das Material Blei eignet sich besonders für die einfache Serienproduktion von kleinformatigen Objekten. Die Herstellung von Votiven aus Blei ist von bronzezeitlichen Votivfiguren bis hin zu frühneuzeitlichen Pilgerzeichen belegt. Die serielle Herstellung solcher Bleivotive soll vor allem anhand von Funden aus dem Bestand der Archäologischen Staatssammlung vorgestellt werden, darunter Tonformen und zugehörige Bleivotive aus dem Vorderen Orient, Votive aus dem Menelaion in Sparta sowie römische Bleivotive aus Carnuntum.

3. Dagmara Wielgosz-Rondolino (University of Warsaw)

Serial production or individual orders? Palmyrene sculpture from the 1st to the 3rd century AD
Palmyrene sculpture arouses great interest as a spectacular expression of local art. Formed by complex process and influenced by various cultural traditions, it maintained until the end its original character and style. Palmyra itself presents very rich and diversified spectrum of sculptural material, both in relief and in round as well as in form of architectural elements. At least two local limestone quarries supplied the raw material. Within the quarries the workshops operated responsible for the form shaping process defining the basic design of the object. Extremely rich sculptural evidence clearly proves that the serial production in Palmyra influenced each category of sculpture, although with different intensity in different historical periods. This phenomenon can be understood in strictly socio-economical terms: the economic growth of the city and its society increased the demand of self-representation objects, or in terms of strong local tradition and convention. No doubt, both are valid. In order to understand the long-term process of sculptural production in Palmyra, a holistic approach is required. In my opinion, Palmyrene sculpture should be interpreted as a whole, ruled by a single collection of socio-cultural factors.

4. Eleonora Cussini (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia)

Serial production or individual orders? Palmyrene inscriptions on sculpture from the 1st to the 3rd century AD
This contribution focuses on the epigraphs written on the artifacts discussed in the paper by Dagmara Wielgosz-Rondolino. Here the discussion aims at investigating given formulaic texts attested in hundreds of specimens. Special attention is given to the picture resulting from the study of the different text-types: epitaphs, dedicatory and honorific inscriptions. The discussion of the epigraphic records is strongly connected to the previous paper on Serial Production or Individual Orders in Palmyra: the artifacts - their written and visual parts - are studied as a whole, to evaluate the degree of individualization of the texts in the context of a production in series of the artifacts they were written on.