A Process of Glocalisation? Roman Marble Imports and the Rise of Blocked-Out Capitals in Local Stone
2019, 58
Publication date
Publishing model
License type
Field
Discipline
Language of publication
Downloads
PDF 407 KB
Number of views:269
Number of downloads:58
Crossref citations:0
Altmetric score:0
Abstract
In the Augustan Age, a new aesthetic preference was propagated in the Roman Empire – the surface of white marble was valued as it symbolised the strength and superiority of the ‘new age’. Soon, an immense trade in high quality marble over land and sea developed to meet the emergent demand. While the development and scale of this trade is well studied, the repercussions that the new aesthetic preference had on the local architectural traditions in areas where no marble was close at hand is not commonly considered. In this contribution, two developments are traced, taking the Corinthian capital as the leitmotif. First, in the short period between c. 40 and 10 BC, patrons would choose imitation of marble in plaster to meet up with the demands of the new standard and to demonstrate their adherence to the Empire. In the second line of development, a different path was taken – a conscious use of local materials which went hand in hand with the development of a new type of capital, the so-called ‘Nabataean blocked-out’ capital. This combination turned into a new vernacular tradition across large parts of the eastern Mediterranean. Both developments were local responses to a new ‘global’ trend and can therefore be viewed as a phenomenon of glocalisation in the Roman Period.
Keywords:
Bibliography
Álvarez Martinez J.M., Nogales Basarrate T. 2003 Forum Coloniae Augustae Emeritae. Templo de Diana, Mérida.
Aupert P. 1977 Rapport sur les travaux de la mission de l'École française à Amathonte en 1976, Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 101, 781-815.
Aupert P., Hermary A. 1982 Rapport sur les travaux de la mission de l'École française à Amathonte en 1981, Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 106, 745-751.
https://doi.org/10.3406/bch.1982.1914
Baranski M. 2004 Coloured hellenistic architectural remains from el Ashmunein (Hermopolis Magna) Egypt, (in:) L. Cleland, K. Stears (eds), Colour in the Ancient Mediterranean World, British Archaeological Reports International Series 1267, Oxford, 96-99.
Bartette T. 2017 Arles colonie modèle de la romanisation par la diffusion de cartons romains, (in:) P. Pensabene, M. Milella, F. Caprioli (eds), Decor: decorazione architettonica nel mondo romano, Thiasos Monografie 9, 245-256.
Berns C. 2003 Untersuchungen zu den Grabbauten der frühen Kaiserzeit in Kleinasien, Asia Minor Studien 51, Bonn.
Blin S. 2017 Chapiteaux en marbre de Gaule de l'est et de Germanie, entre modèles urbains et creation provinciale, (in:) P. Pensabene, M. Milella, F. Caprioli (eds), Decor: decorazione architettonica nel mondo romano, Thiasos Monografie 9, 257-268.
Borchardt L. 1903 Der Augustustempel auf Philae, Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 18, 73-90.
Borgia E. 2010 I cantieri delle vie colonnate nell'Oriente romano, (in:) S. Camporeale, H. Dessales, A. Pizzo (eds), Arqueologia de la construccion 2. Los procesos constructivos en el mundo romano: Italia y provincias orientales, Anejos de Archivio Español de Arqueología 57, Mérida, 281-299.
Börker C. 1971 Die Datierung des Zeus-Tempels von Kilikien, Archäologischer Anzeiger 86, 37-53.
Bourgeois V.H. 1909 La carrière romaine de la Lance près Concise (Canton de Vaud), Anzeiger für Schweizerische Altertumskunde 11, 215-219.
Bresciani E. 1968 Missione di scavo a Medinet Madi. Rapporto preliminare delle campagne di scavo 1966 e 1967, Testi e documenti per lo studio dell'antichità 20, Milano 1968.
Brunet-Gaston V. 2010 Le marbre de Carrare dans les programmes architecturaux d'Augustodunum - Autun (France), (in:) S. Camporeale, H. Dessales, A. Pizzo (eds), Arqueologia de la construccion 2. Los procesos constructivos en el mundo romano: Italia y provincias orientales, Anejos de Archivio Español de Arqueología 57, Mérida, 491-507.
Brzozowska-Jawornicka A. forthcoming Blocked-out capitals from Nea Paphos. Preliminary remarks, (in:) H. Meyza (ed.), Decoration of Hellenistic and Roman Buildings in Cyprus. Residences at Nea Paphos and Other Cities of the Region, Acts of the Conference in Warsaw, 10-11th of March 2017, Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw.
Butler H.C. 1913 Publications of the Princeton Archaeological Expedition to Syria 1904-5 and 1909, Division II: Architecture, Section A: Southern Syria, Part 3: Umm idj-Djimâl, Leiden.
Butler H.C. 1919 Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904-5 and 1909, Division 2: Architecture, Section A: Southern Syria, Part 6: Sî (Seeia), Leiden.
Cotton H.M., Geiger J. 1989 Masada II: The Latin and Greek Documents, Jerusalem.
Curran J. 2013 Herod and Augustus, (in:) S. Rozenberg, D. Mevorah (eds), Herod the Great. The King's Final Journey, Jerusalem, 16-33.
Curran J. 2014 Philorhomaioi: the Herods between Rome and Jerusalem, Journal for the Study of Judaism 45, 493-522.
https://doi.org/10.1163/15700631-12340097
Czerner R. 2009 The Architectural Decoration of Marina el-Alamein, British Archaeological Reports International Series 1942, Oxford.
Daszewski W.A. 1990 Nouvelles recherches sur la côte Nord de l'Égypte. Un type méconnu de chapiteaux, Études et Travaux 15, 109-124.
De la Barrera J.L. 2000 La decoración arquitectónica de los foros de Augusta Emerita, Bibliotheca Archaeologica 25, Roma.
Dentzer-Feydy J. 2015 Le décor architecturale, (in:) L. Nehmé (ed.), Les tombeaux nabatéens de Hégra, Paris, 247-419.
Detweiler 1938 The North Gate, (in:) Kraeling C.H. (ed.), Gerasa, City of the Decapolis. An Account Embodying the Record of a Joint Expedition Conducted by Yale University and the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem (1928-1930), and Yale University and the American Schools of Oriental Research (1930-1931, 1933-1934), New Haven, 117-123.
Di Vita A. 2017 Per un profilo del capitello a foglie lisce: i capitelli del tempio di Liber Pater ed il capitello a foglie lisce di Sabratha, (in:) M.A. Rizzo Di Vita (ed.), Antonino Di Vita, La Tripolitania antica. Scritti inediti, Roma, 57-98.
Equini Schneider E. (ed.) 1999 Elaiussa Sebaste 1. Campagne di scavo 1995-1997, Bibliotheca Archeologica 24, Roma.
Equini Schneider E. (ed.) 2003 Elaiussa Sebaste 2. Un porto tra Oriente e Occidente, Bibliotheca Archeologica 37, Roma.
Farajat S., Nawafleh S. 2005 Report on the Al-Khazna courtyard excavation at Petra (2003 season), Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 49, 373-393.
Fauerbach U., Sählhof M. 2012 Kaiserkult am Katarakt. Der Augustustempel auf Philae, (in:) Bericht über die 46. Tagung für Ausgrabungswissenschaft und Bauforschung, 65-80.
Fejfer J. 2013 Marble mania. Code-switching in Roman Cyprus?, HEROM: Journal on Hellenistic and Roman Material Culture 2, 169-197.
https://doi.org/10.11116/HEROM.2.9
Fellague D., Savay-Guerraz H., Masino F., Sobrà G. 2015 The use of marble in the Roman architecture of Lugdunum (Lyon, France), (in:) P. Pensabene, E. Gasparini (eds), ASMOSIA X: Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference of ASMOSIA, Rome, 21-26 May 2012, Roma, 125-134.
Ferchiou N. 1976 Une carrier régionale en Afrique. La pierre de Keddel, Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. Römische Abteilung 83, 367-402.
Ferchiou N. 1989 L'évolution du décor architectonique en Afrique proconsulaire des derniers temps de Carthage aux Antonins. L'hellénisme africain, son déclin, ses mutations et le triomphe de l'art romano-africain, Gap.
Fiema Z.T., Kanellopoulos C., Waliszewski T., Schick R. 2001 The Petra Church, American Center of Oriental Research Publications 3, Amman.
Fischer M. 1990 Das korinthische Kapitell im alten Israel in der hellenistischen und römischen Periode, Studien zur Geschichte der Baudekoration im Nahen Osten, Mainz.
Foerster G. 1995 Masada V: Art and Architecture, Jerusalem.
Grawehr M. 2017 Bossenstil und Baumaterial, (in:) D. Kurapkat, U. Wulf-Rheidt (eds), Werkspuren. Materialverarbeitung und handwerkliches Wissen im antiken Bauwesen, Diskussionen zur Archäologischen Bauforschung 12, Regensburg, 103-118.
Grawehr M., Brzozowska-Jawornicka A. forthcoming The 'Nabataean' blocked-out capital in its wider framework. A closer look, (in:) N. al-Rawabdeh, R.R. Hunziker-Rodewald, I.N. Abuamoud (eds), ICPNC III. Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Petra and the Nabataean Culture 'The Nabataeans - Economy and Culture', Petra, June 18-21, 2018.
Hauschild T. 1990 Das römische Theater von Lissabon, Madrider Mitteilungen 31, 348-392.
Hausleiter A. 2010 L'oasis de Taymâ', (in:) A. al-Ghabban, B. André-Salvini, F. Demange, C. Juvin, M. Cotty (eds), Routes d'Arabie : Archéologie et histoire du Royaume d'Arabie Saoudite, Paris.
Heilmeyer W.-D. 1970 Korinthische Normalkapitelle. Studien zur Geschichte der römischen Architekturdekoration, Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. Römische Abteilung 16. Ergänzungsheft, Heidelberg.
Hermary A., Schmid M. 1985 Le sanctuaire d'Aphrodite à Amathonte, (in:) T. Papadopoullos, S.A. Chatzistyllis (eds), Πρακτικά τoυ Δευτέρoυ Διεθνoύς Kυπριoλoγικoύ Συνεδρίoυ, Λευκωσία 20-25 Aπριλίoυ 1982, vol. 1, Nikosia, 279-286.
Hesberg H. von 1978 Zur Entwicklung der griechischen Architektur im ptolemäischen Reich, (in:) H. Maehler, V.M. Strocka (eds), Das ptolemäische Ägypten. Akten des internationalen Symposion 27.-29. September 1976 in Berlin, Mainz, 137-145.
Hoebel F. 2014 Zwischen Orient und Okzident. Die Kultbauten im Areal Santa Barbara, (in:) M. van Ess, K. Rheidt (eds), Baalbek - Heliopolis. 10000 Jahre Stadtgeschichte, Darmstadt, 80-91.
Hufschmid T. 2017 Provinzial statt provinziell. Architekturkonzepte und Baudekor in Aventicum/Avenches [CH], der Hauptstadt der Helvetier, (in:) J. Lipps (ed.), Transfer und Transformation römischer Architektur in den Nordwestprovinzen. Kolloquium vom 6.-7. November 2015 in Tübingen, Tübinger archäologische Forschungen 22, Rahden, 175-194.
Invernizzi A. 1994 Capitelli smaltati dal teatro di Seleucia sul Tigri, Mesopotamia 19, 107-146.
Jacobson D.M., Kokkinos N. (eds) 2009 Herod and Augustus: Papers Presented at the IJS Conference, 21st-23rd June 2005, IJS Studies in Judaica 6, Leiden.
https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004165465.i-418
Jaussen A., Savignac R. 1909 Mission archéologique en Arabie (Mars-Mai 1907) I : De Jérusalem au Hedjaz Médain-Saleh, Paris.
Kaplan D. 2014 Doğudağlık Kilikia Bölgesi Roma Imparatorluk Dönemi Detaylandırılmamış Korinth Başıkları, Istanbul.
Karageorghis V. 1974 Chronique des fouilles et découvertes archéologiques à Chypre, Bulletin de Correspondence Hellénique 98, 821-896.
https://doi.org/10.3406/bch.1974.4841
Kiessel M. 2013 Spätantike Kapitellausstattungen in Zypern. Das Thermen-Gymnasium von Salamis/Constantia und der Forumbereich von Kourion, Adalya 16, 241-260.
Kołątaj W., Majcherek G., Parandowska E. 2007 Villa of the Birds. The Excavation and Preservation of the Kom al-Dikka Mosaics, Cairo.
https://doi.org/10.5743/cairo/9789774160769.001.0001
Krencker D., Zschietzschmann W. 1938 Römische Tempel in Syrien. Nach Aufnahmen und Untersuchungen von Mitgliedern der Deutschen Baalbekexpedition 1901-1904, Denkmäler antiker Architektur 5, Berlin.
Kropp A. 2009 King-Caesar-god: Roman imperial cult among Near Eastern 'client' kings in the Julio-Claudian period, (in:) M. Blömer, M. Facella, E. Winter (eds), Lokale Identität im römischen Nahen Osten. Kontexte und Perspektiven, Oriens et occidens 18, Stuttgart, 99-150.
Laroche-Traunecker F. 2000 Chapiteaux « nabatéens », « corinthiens inachevés » ou « simplifies » ? Nouveaux exemples en Égypte, Ktema 25, 207-213.
Lézine A. 1956 La maison des chapiteaux historiés à Utique, Karthago 7, 3-27.
Lyons H.G. 1896 A Report on the Island and Temples of Philae, London.
Maligorne Y. 2017 Le décor architectural en marbre à Narbonne (Gallia Narbonensis). Les periods augustéenne et julio-claudienne, (in:) P. Pensabene, M. Milella, F. Caprioli (eds), Decor: decorazione architettonica nel mondo romano, Thiasos Monografie 9, 207-216.
Mañas Romero I. 2008 Canteras de Lustania. Un análisis arqueológico, (in:) T. Nogales Bessarate, J. Beltrán Fortes (eds), Marmora Hispana: extractión y uso de los materials pétreos en la Hispania Romana, Hispania Antigua. Serie Arqueológica 2, Roma, 487-500.
McKenzie J.S. 1990 The Architecture of Petra, British Academy Monographs in Archaeology 1, London.
McKenzie J.S. 2007 The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, c. 300 BC to AD 700, New Haven.
Mugnai N. 2017 At the edge of the Roman world: the Corinthian and composite capitals from Sala, Banasa and Volubilis (Mauretania Tingitana), (in:) P. Pensabene, M. Milella, F. Caprioli (eds), Decor: decorazione architettonica nel mondo romano, Thiasos Monografie 9, 363-378.
Mugnai N. 2018 Architectural Decoration and Urban History in Mauretania Tingitana, Mediterranean Archaeology Studies 1, Roma.
Negev A. 1974 Nabatean capitals in the towns of the Negev, Israel Exploration Journal 24, 153-159.
Negev A. 1988 The Architecture of Mampsis: Final Report 1: The Late Roman and Byzantine Periods, Qedem 27, Jerusalem.
Netzer E. 2001 Hasmonean and Herodian Palaces at Jericho. Final Reports of the 1973-1987 Excavations I: Stratigraphy and Architecture, Jerusalem.
Netzer E. 2003 Nabatäische Architektur. Insbesondere Gräber und Tempel, Antike Welt Sonderband, Mainz.
Palaeological Association of Japan (ed.) 1995 Akoris: Report of the Excavations at Akoris in Middle Egypt, 1981-1992, Kyoto.
Patrich J. 1996 The formation of the Nabataean capital, (in:) K. Fittschen, G. Foerster (eds), Judaea and the Greco-Roman World in the Time of Herod in the Light of Archaeological Evidence, Göttingen, 197-218.
Peleg O., Rozenberg S. 2008 Stuccowork in the Herodian palaces, (in:) S. Rozenberg, Hasmonean and Herodian Palaces at Jericho. Final Reports of the 1973-1987 Excavations IV: The Decoration of Herod's Third Palace at Jericho, Jerusalem, 475-521.
Pensabene P. 1982 Les chapiteaux de Cherchel. Étude de la decoration architectonique, Bulletin d'archéologie algérienne supplément 3, Alger 1982.
Pensabene P. 1986 La decorazione architettonica, l'impiego del marmo e l'importazione di manufatti orientali a Roma, in Italia e in Africa. II-VI d.C., (in:) A. Giardina (ed.), Società romana e impero tardo antico, 3. Le merci. Gli insediamenti, Roma, 285-303.
Pensabene P. 1993 Elementi architettonici di Alessandria e di altri siti egiziani, Repertorio d'arte dell'Egitto Greco-Romano C 3, Roma.
Pensabene P. 2004 La diffusione del marmo lunense nelle provincie occidentali, (in:) S.F. Ramallo Asensio (ed.), La decoración arquitectónica en las ciudades romanas de occidente, Murcia, 421-443.
Pensabene P., Mar R. 2010 Il tempio di Augusto a Tarraco: Gigantismo e marmo lunense nei luoghi di culto imperiale in Hispania e Gallia, Archeologia Classica 61, 243-307.
Praschniker C., Theuer M. 1979 Das Mausoleum von Belevi, Forschungen in Ephesos 6, Wien.
Quatember U. 2016 Natural resources and the formation of a regional architectural identity in Roman Asia, (in:) T. Ismaelli, G. Scardozzi (eds), Ancient Quarries and Building Sites in Asia Minor. Research on Hierapolis in Phrygia and Other Cities in South-Western Anatolia: Archaeology, Archaeometry, Conservation, Bibliotheca Archaeologica 45, Bari, 725-732.
Rey-Coquais J.-P. 1999 Qalaat Faqra. Un monument du culte impérial dans la montagne libanaise, Topoi 9, 629-664.
https://doi.org/10.3406/topoi.1999.1855
Rodá 2004 El mármol como soporte privilegiado en los programas ornamentales de época imperial, (in:) S.F. Ramallo Asensio (ed.), La decoración arquitectónica en las ciudades romanas de occidente, Murcia, 405-420.
Rosenthal-Hegginbottom R. 1982 Die Kirchen von Sobota und die Dreiapsidenkirchen des Nahen Ostens, Göttinger Orientforschungen, Reihe 2. Studien zur spätantiken und frühchristlichen Kunst, Wiesbaden.
Rozenberg S. 2013 Interior decoration in Herod's palaces, (in:) S. Rozenberg, D. Mevorah (eds), Herod the Great. The King's Final Journey, Jerusalem, 166-223.
Rubensohn O. 1905 Aus griechisch-römischen Häusern des Fayum, Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 20, 1-25.
Russell B. 2013 The Economics of the Roman Stone Trade, Oxford.
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656394.001.0001
Schlumberger D. 1933 Les formes anciennes du chapiteau corinthien en Syrie, en Palestine et en Arabie, Syria 14, 283-317.
https://doi.org/10.3406/syria.1933.3686
Schmid M.E. 1988 L'architecture du temple d'Aphrodite à Amathonte, Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus 1988, 143-147.
Schmid S.G. 2009 Nabataean royal propaganda: a response to Herod and Augustus, (in:) D.M. Jacobson, N. Kokkinos (eds), Herod and Augustus: Papers Presented at the Institute of Jewish Studies Conference, 21st-23rd June 2005, IJS Studies in Judaica 6, Leiden, 325-359.
https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004165465.i-418.92
Scranton R.L. 1967 The Architecture of the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates at Kourion, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. New Series 57, Philadelphia.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1006122
Sinos S. 1990 The Temple of Apollo Hylates at Kourion and the Restoration of Its South-west Corner, Athens.
Slim H. 1990a Le modèle urbain romain et le problème de l'eau dans les confines du Sahel et de la Basse Steppe, (in:) L'Afrique dans l'Occident romain (Ier siècle av. J.-C. - IVe siècle ap. J.-C.). Actes du colloque de Rome (3-5 décembre 1987), Publications de l'École française de Rome 134, Roma, 169-201.
Slim H. 1990b La maison dit du portrait de Lucius Verus à El Jem, Bulletin de la Société nationale des antiquaires de France, 87-89.
https://doi.org/10.3406/bsnaf.1992.9546
Spanu M. 2011 The Theatre of Diokaisareia, Diokaisareia in Kilikien 2, Berlin.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110222227
Stucky R.A. 2016 Sculptures et elements d'architecture de Sidon en marbre, BAAL : bulletin d'archéologie et d'architecture libanaises 16, 311-328.
Tkaczow B. 2010 Architectural Styles of Ancient Alexandria: Elements of Architectural Decoration from Polish Excavations at Kom el-Dikka (1960-1993), Alexandrie VIII, Warsaw.
Trillmich W. 2004 Los programas arquitectónicos de época Julio-Claudia en la colonia Augusta Emerita, (in:) S.F. Ramallo Asensio (ed.), La decoración arquitectónica en las ciudades romanas de occidente, Murcia, 321-335.
Vörös G. 2013 Machaerus 1: History, Archaeology and Architecture of the Fortified Herodian Royal Palace and City Overlooking the Dead Sea in Transjordan: Final Report of the Excavations and Surveys 1807-2012, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. Collectio maior 53, Milan.
Wace A.J.B., Megaw A.H.S., Skeat T.C. 1959 Hermopolis Magna, Ashmunein: The Ptolemaic Sanctuary and the Basilica, Alexandria.
Ward-Perkins J.B. 1951 Tripolitania and the marble trade, Journal of Roman Studies 41, 89-104.
https://doi.org/10.2307/298102
Ward-Perkins J.B. 1980 Nicomedia and the marble trade, Papers of the British School at Rome 48, 23-69
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068246200008357
Wienholz H. 2008 The relative chronology of the Roman buildings in Baalbek in view of their architectural decoration, (in:) M. van Ess (ed.), Baalbek-Heliopolis: Results of Archaeological and Architectural Research 2002-2005, German-Lebanese Colloquium: Berlin 2006, BAAL Hors-Série 4, Beirut, 271-285.
Zayadine F. 1987 Decorative stucco at Petra and other hellenistic sites, (in:) A. Hadidi (ed.), Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan, vol. 3, Amman, 131-142.
Zink S., Piening H. 2009 Haec aurea templa: the Palatine temple of Apollo and its polychromy, Journal of Roman Archaeology 22, 109-122.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047759400020614