Classical Sculpture: Catalogue of the Cypriot, Greek, and Roman Stone Sculpture in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Classical Sculpture: Catalogue of the Cypriot, Greek, and Roman Stone Sculpture in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Jessica Powers Irene Bald Romano. Classical Sculpture: Catalogue of the Cypriot, Greek, and Roman Stone Sculpture in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Museum Monograph no. 125. Pp. xii + 331, figs. 319, map, CD-ROM with 54 figs. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2006. US $59.95. ISBN 1-931707-84-7. This catalogue is the first comprehensive publication of the Cypriot, Greek and Roman sculptures in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (henceforth UPM).1 It documents 154 sculptures that range in date from the seventh century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. and come from Italy, North Africa, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and the Near East. The UPM collection is remarkable in including a large number of sculptures with known findspots. Among them are pieces from excavations sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania at Kourion, Colonia Minturnae, Teanum Sidicinum, Nysa Scythopolis and Koptos. Many of the sculptures purchased by the UPM—acquired mostly between the 1880s and the 1930s—also have documented findspots, including works from the Sanctuary of Diana Nemorensis at Lake Nemi, from Palmyra, and from various sites on Cyprus. Irene Bald Romano is to be commended for achieving the daunting task of producing up-to-date documentation and analysis of this broad array of material. After a Preface outlining the organization of the catalogue and the development of the collection, the catalogue is organized into nine cultural and geographic sections: Cypriot sculpture (16 entries); Greek sculpture (27 entries); sculpture from four Roman sites, the Sanctuary of Diana Nemorensis (39 entries), Colonia Minturnae (8 entries), Teanum Sidicinum (2 entries), and Nysa Scythopolis (9 entries); other Roman sculpture (23 entries); uncertain works and forgeries (5 entries); and Palmyrene and Graeco-Parthian sculpture (25 entries). Brief introductions [End Page 155] to the sites where the sculptures were found and to each site's excavation and publication history accompany most of the sections. An extensive bibliography, a concordance of accession and catalogue numbers, and an index complete the volume. While the categories chosen for the arrangement of the entries are sensible, some aspects of the catalogue's organization are puzzling. Within the Greek sculpture section, the sub-categories of “Hellenistic Divine and Idealized Images,” “Late Hellenistic/Imperial Roman Female Heads,” and “Roman Copies/Adaptations of Greek Works” consist largely of late Hellenistic/late Republican and Roman Imperial works. This arrangement does not reflect the shift in recent years toward studying such sculptures in relation to their Roman contexts rather than to Greek models. The placement of the Palmyrene and Graeco-Parthian works after the dubitanda makes them seem almost an afterthought; grouping them instead with the Nysa Scythopolis material would have better demonstrated the strength of the UPM's collection of sculptures from Near Eastern sites. In each section, representations of females are presented before those of males, an organizational choice that enforces an oddly un-chronological arrangement. These issues of organization are, however, unlikely to disturb most readers, who are more likely to consult the volume as a reference on particular topics than to read it cover to cover. These readers will undoubtedly benefit from the detailed observations presented in the individual entries. Each entry provides information on the findspot (when known) and modern ownership history of the sculpture. Romano gives condition notes and a thorough description of each piece, with careful attention to evidence for tool marks, methods of assembly, surface finish and modern interventions. The commentaries on individual sculptures address issues of style and iconography as well as stoneworking techniques, the trade in raw materials and in finished sculptures, and cross-cultural influences. Romano's interpretations are generally cautious, and she is careful to present multiple opinions when appropriate. The entries are written in a condensed style, but the references provided in each will lead the reader to further, recent work. Each entry is accompanied by at least one black-and-white photograph; in some cases, however, the views chosen and the uniform black background obscure details mentioned in the text. The...

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