when colour tells a story. the polychromy of hellenistic sculpture and terracottas

1

Vinzenz Brinkmann / Max Hollein / Oliver Primavesi

CIRCUMLITIO

2 3

Vinzenz Brinkmann / Max Hollein / Oliver Primavesi

CIRCUMLITIO

5

Index

Max Hollein Foreword / Vorwort

Vinzenz Brinkmann

Introduction / Einführung

Oliver Primavesi Winckelmann on Ancient Polychrome Sculpture and the Suppression of his Findings

in Classical Weimar

Jan Stubbe Østergaard

The Polychromy of Antique Sculpture: A Challenge to Western Ideals?

HISTORICAL PAINTING TECHNIQUES

Heinrich Piening From Scientific Findings to Reconstruction: The Technical Background to the Scientific

Reconstruction of Colours

Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann On Reconstructing Antique Polychromy Techniques

Harald Theiss

A Brief Overview of the Decorative Techniques Used in Sculptural Polychromy in the Middle Ages

Dieter Köcher

Madder in Sources from Antiquity and the Middle Ages

THE POLYCHROMY OF ANTIQUE SCULPTURE

David Warburton

Colours in Bronze-Age Egyptian Art and Language

Ursula Mandel

On the Qualities of the “Colour” White in Antiquity*

Vinzenz Brinkmann

The Colours of Phrasikleia

Christina Vlassopoulou The Polychromy of the Parthenon

Brigitte Bourgeois, Philippe Jockey The Polychromy of Hellenistic Marble Sculpture in Delos

Clarissa Blume

When Colour Tells a Story: The Polychromy of Hellenistic Sculpture and Terracottas

Julia Großekathöfer As the Moon Is to the Sun? Current Research on Polychromy on Etruscan Sculpture

Mark B. Abbe Recent Research on the Painting and Gilding of Roman Marble Statuary at Aphrodisias

Paolo Liverani New Evidence of Polychromy on Roman Sculpture

Ulderico Santamaria Analytical and Methodological Aspects of Investigations into the Polychromy of Roman

Statuary

Jan Stubbe Østergaard The Copenhagen Polychromy Network: A Research Project on Ancient Greek and Ro-

man Sculptural Polychromy in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

THE POLYCHROMY OF MEDIEVAL SCULPTURE

Stefan Roller

The Polychromy of Medieval Sculpture: A Brief Overview

Arnulf von Ulmann The Virtual Reconstruction of Medieval Polychromy

Susie Nash Polychromy, Collaboration and Making Meaning on the Well of Moses at the Chartreuse

de Champmol in Dijon‘

Bibliography Picture credits Imprint

144

2

1

3

1 Female figure from Tanagra. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Stiftung Preussischer Kultur besitz, Antikensammlung, TC 7674

2 Terracotta figure from Myrina. British Museum (1885.3-16.1 / Higgins 2274)

3 Figure from Tanagra. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Stiftung Preussischer Kultur besitz, Antiken-sammlung, TC 7420

Introduction

When we look at ancient sculpture we often find ourselves in front of a masterpiece in white, fine-crystalline marble. We prize its luminous whiteness, which draws our gaze to it, and its form, on which we are able to concentrate all the better because of the work’s monochromy.As this contribution will show, the creation of Hellenistic sculpture did not involve form alone, but included the provision of further detail by means of polychrome additions. These additions enrich the object and provide the viewer with more information. In other words, colour tells a story. To give insight into this practice, a definition of what is meant by poly-chromy and a de -scription of the polychrome appearance of Hellenistic sculptures and small-scale terracottas will be provided in the following. The focus will then turn to two examples that shed light on the function of the polychrome additions.

I. The Polychromy of Hellenistic Sculpture and Terracottas

The Term “Polychromy”

The word “polychromy” is a modern compound of two ancient Greek words, πολύ (many) and χρώματος, which comes from χρώς (surface or skin).1 The term is often used as a synonym for the painting of objects. However, the use of colour on Hellenistic terracottas and especially sculptures is more complex and is based on more than merely painting them.

Characteristics of the Polychromy of Hellenistic Terracottas

Hellenistic terracottas are known for their often extraordinarily well-preserved coat of paint, which, on the side from which they are intended to be viewed, covers them completely, i.e. without any areas being left bare [figS. 1–2]. The polychrome treatment determines the colour-ing of the individual elements depicted, such as garments or jewellery, provides them with additional details, and adds to the overall figure further elements which have not been sculp-turally executed but are significant for the interpretation of the figure represented.The choice of colours may vary according to where the figure was produced, but the painting of the terracottas follows a uniform style and seems never to depart from colouration that closely reflects reality. The inorganic and organic colourants employed in the time and place in question were not applied directly to the clay but to a white coating that probably served as a ground, isolating and levelling the surface and providing a reflective base for the application of

Clarissa Blume

When Colour Tells a Story – The Polychromy of Hellenistic Sculpture and Terracottas

146

4 Sculpture of the “Small Herculaneum Woman” type from Delos. National Archaeological Museum of Athens, 1827

paint.2 That this surface really was a ground and not, for instance, a paint is confirmed above all by the fact that it was applied to every figurine, but consisted of different materials depend-ing on where the figurine was made. Obviously, the substance was chosen for its light colour and fine texture.3 In the case of clay figurines – as opposed to stone sculptures – the surface and the ground were not given different textures but remained uniformly smooth. Taken as a whole, the polychrome appearance of the terracottas derives primarily from their coat of paint. A further feature, in a few isolated cases, was the addition of small objects made of other materials, which the figures, for instance, held in their hands [fig. 3].4

Characteristics of the Polychromy of Hellenistic Sculpture

Comparison of the polychromy of Hellenistic terracottas with that of sculpture of the same period shows that the terracotta figures are not small-scale equivalents of the sculptures. The polychromy of sculpture differs in at least three respects. Firstly, the marble surface was treated differently for different pictorial elements, secondly other materials were often added, and thirdly the polychromy of the sculptures falls into different types. These three aspects will now be discussed in greater detail.

1. The Sculptural Treatment of the Marble Surface

The surface of large-scale sculptures, unlike that of terracottas, was not treated in a uniform manner but given different textures intended to characterize the individual elements of the representation.For example, the sculptor executing a Delian sculpture of the “Small Herculaneum Woman” type made the areas of skin particularly smooth, thereby differentiating them from the hair and the clothing [figS. 4–7].5 This more intensive polish given to the flesh is found especially often in Hellenistic sculptures.In the case of some objects, the other sculptural elements were likewise given a specific tex-ture. On that same Delian sculpture, for instance, the hair is left rougher and the two gar-ments are differentiated from one another [figS. 4–7]: while the material of the himation is characterized by an even surface with sharp scratch-marks made by a toothed chisel [fig. 6], a large number of shallow notches give the fabric of the chiton [fig. 7] the appearance of a crêpe-like textile.6

Although one might regard the treatment of the surface of the stone as a purely sculptural aspect, it also has a decisive influence on the polychrome effect of a sculpture: for one thing, a material that is part of the image can be represented by more than colour alone, and for another the brightness and precise tone of the colour of paint applied can appear to vary be-


17 Face. Detail of fig. 4 22 Gold border of

himation. Detail of fig. 4

18 Himation. Detail of fig. 4


(with artificial accentuation

of pattern)



(with artificial accentuation

of pattern)

17 22

18 19

2120

6

7

5

8

5 Temple and hair. Detail of

fig. 4

6 Himation. Detail of fig. 4 7 Chiton and sandal. Detail

of fig. 4

8 Attached metal object.

Detail of fig. 4

150 151

tion of polychromy, only a few examples of this type can be found, but the horse and the dark-skinned young groom on an Attic relief may well have been completely painted [figS. 24–30].12

In the case of a second type of polychromy, most elements of a sculpture are covered with paint, such as the hair or the garment, and sometimes exhibit gold details, but the flesh is retained marble-white. There is a possible example of this in the Delian sculpture already mentioned: traces of former colouring have survived on every part of the body and clothing except for the areas of flesh. Whether the flesh was given some other treatment, for instance with wax, cannot be determined by current research methods [figS. 4–7, 17–22].Whereas Reuterswärd assumed that polychromy covering a large proportion of the surface was applied only to “smaller-scale” works and works of “mediocre or even low quality”, this high-quality Delian sculpture proves otherwise.13

The third polychrome type is a combination of gilding for the flesh, with colour for the other elements. An example of this approach is a privately owned portrait of Alexander which shows remnants of gilding that probably once covered the areas of flesh and the hair, while traces of red reveal that details like the eyes and lips were painted [figS. 10–11].14 It is especially difficult to find examples of the second polychrome type with the retention of the white marble surface for the flesh. Nevertheless, on one alabaster statuette from Byblos in present-day Lebanon, the polychromy as a whole is so well preserved that one can probably assume that, for the flesh, the white surface of the alabaster was left unpainted from the outset.That statuette [figS. 12–14] shows a nude Aphrodite unfastening her sandal, with Eros on a rock and an oar to her left, and a dolphin on which the goddess’s foot is resting.15 Aphrodite’s hima-tion once hung down from her left arm or from the oar, but only part of it remains, behind Eros (who also sits on a part of the fabric). The polychrome or painted areas are the hair, eyes, nostrils, and lips of the two figures, in the case of Aphrodite also the pubic hair, red dots around the breasts, jewellery on both figures, the sandals, Eros’s wings, and the himation be-hind him, as well as the oar, the dolphin, and the rock. In addition, their navels and the geni-tals of Eros are accented in red. The flesh is the only part of the two figures that shows no traces of polychromy. The generally good state of preservation of the polychromy of the statu-ette seems to indicate that the flesh was left alabaster-white from the start.

II. The Function of Polychromy in Hellenistic Sculptures and Terracottas

Until now, the interest of scholars has generally focussed on the substances used as colourants, the methods of applying them, and possible means of reconstructing the polychromy of par-ticular areas of a sculpture’s surface. The question of the function and the further information conveyed by the polychrome additions, however, has hitherto been neglected. On the basis

cause of the variable nature of the surface. Whether a surface was deliberately made smooth or rough in order to influence the visual effect of the paint, however, cannot now be established with certainty.

2. The Addition of Other Materials

Not all the details of a Hellenistic sculpture were worked in the stone itself or painted onto it. Though it is very rare with terracottas, in the case of sculptures there was a tendency to play with the possibilities of forming individual elements out of other materials and attaching them to the stone object.7

The added elements which are traceable are most often objects made of metal: holes pierced in the ears, for instance, point to earrings that once hung there, the fragment of a handle in the left hand of the Delian sculpture mentioned above was presumably part of a fan [fig. 8], and gaps behind the molars of the horse in an Attic relief suggest that, like a well-preserved horse from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos, for instance, it once wore a bronze bridle [fig. 9].8 Met-al additions are the only kind for which there is archaeological evidence, but it is worthwhile considering whether other, more perishable materials were also attached. 3. The Decoration of Sculpture with Paint – Different Types

The analyses suggest that the inorganic and organic colourants used in the polychromy of Hellenistic sculpture were the same as those employed on terracottas.9 What is still uncertain is which of them were used most. A ground such as that found on the terracottas is not nor-mally present.10

While the terracottas of the Hellenistic epoch were generally painted entirely according to a convention that aims for a realistic appearance, there was more to the painting of sculpture than merely following that scheme. As noted by Patrik Reuterswärd as far back as 1960, not only the colours but also gilding and probably even the white of the marble itself had a part to play.11 Despite this awareness, it is difficult to reconstruct the polychrome appearance of a sculpture and assign it to a particular type of polychromy, because where there are now mar-ble-white areas it is rarely clear whether they were always part of the appearance of the object or originally covered with paint or gold.Reuterswärd identified three types of polychromy which, as the most recent research shows, warrant redefinition. Moreover, we can probably assume that not all sculptures conform ex-actly to a type, but that some represent variations. The newly defined types are the following:The first type of polychromy is where the sculpture is entirely covered with paint, including gilding for smaller details, as in the case of the terracottas. Because of the poor state of preserva-


12 Statuette of Aphrodite

from Byblos in present-day

Lebanon. British Museum,

1914.10-20.1

13 Head of Aphrodite.

Detail of fig. 12

14 Eros. Detail of fig. 12

12

13

14

10 Portrait of Alexander the

Great. Private collection

(Christie’s. Antiquities.

Auction catalogue, London,

18 October 2005, © Christie’s

London)

11 Forehead of portrait.

Detail of fig. 10 (Christie’s.

Antiquities. Auction

catalogue, London, 18

October 2005, © Christie’s

London)

155

of current knowledge it seems possible to identify two main functions of polychromy in the Hellenistic period. On the one hand polychrome additions were used to characterize in greater detail elements that had already been sculpturally executed. On the other hand they serve to add elements not sculpturally formed from the stone but only painted on or made from a different material and attached.These additional elements or additional characterizations in a representation through the use of paint or other materials are of particular importance for the interpretation of most objects. The way they influence the interpretation may be seen, for instance, in the polychrome deco-ration of a terracotta from Hellenistic Egypt [figS. 15–16].16 The female figure is wearing a chi-ton and a himation. Although the garments are sculpturally shaped, it is the application of colour that clearly indicates the value of the himation: it shows the viewer that the colour and pattern of the chiton, as well as the woman’s arms, are visible through the himation. In fact, the painted decoration is so detailed that the thicker and therefore less transparent folds of the himation are shown to be opaque by the use of grey lines. By means of the painting, the himation is thus characterized as a garment made of silk, a material of high value. In this way the polychromy provides the viewer with information about the female subject’s wealth, and hence possibly also her status, which in turn might permit conclusions to be drawn about the function and use of Hellenistic terracottas in general.17

As in the case of this terracotta, sculptures also featured many other elements added to the main body of the stone. The following two examples will illustrate this practice.

Example 1: A Sculpture from Delos of the “Small Herculaneum Woman” Type18

This Delian sculpture is a work of high quality [fig. 4], a circumstance manifested not only in the sculptural work but also in the polychromy: the individual elements of the image are char-acterized by different textures; they were painted; and a metal object, presumably a fan, stands out distinctly from them. Without this polychrome characterization, the sculpture would be pale and colourless, both literally and metaphorically.

The Polychromy

The polychromy of the sculpture is as follows: the hair is rendered in a reddish brown colour, on top of which short strands are painted on in various other tones of brown. Individual hairs are also continued, in the form of painting, on the forehead. The eyes were outlined in red, the iris and eyebrow appear today to be a dark brownish red, and the brown eyelashes were painted on in triangular form. The upper lip bears remnants of dark red paint, a pink line has survived between the lips, and there is some pink in the nostrils [figS. 5, 17].

15 Terracotta from Egypt.

British Museum, 1981.2-10.9

16 Section of garment.

Detail of fig. 15

156 157

his dark flesh tone, preserved in a violet-blue layer, that confirms this impression [fig. 28].25 His hair bears remnants of orange-brown paint [fig. 29].26

In short, the sculpted figures of the relief were supplemented by the use of polychromy. How-ever, not only the figures themselves were painted; the representation was also extended by painting on the background of the relief as well as enhanced by additions in other materials. The horsewhip in the boy’s right hand, for instance, has a sculpturally shaped handle, while the lash in front of it was painted onto the background of the relief [fig. 30]. The horse’s bridle was probably made wholly of metal. As a remnant of the reins, the boy holds a red-painted double-stranded cord made of marble in his left hand. This red piece emerges in a loop from the inside of the closed hand and ends abruptly on the top. Here it neither appears to have broken off nor does it feature peg holes. It should therefore be considered whether the reins were perhaps con-tinued in a different material and whether the latter might have been attached to the picked surface of the background next to the horse’s head [figS. 31–32].In addition, the entire background of the relief above – and possibly also below – the horse was used for the depiction of weapons and pieces of armour; of these depictions, only traces of pink, a yellowish colour and black have survived [figS. 33–34].27 The armour includes a bell-shaped helmet with cheek pieces and a crest as well as a circular shield, of which a part of the curved shape can be seen next to the helmet and an ornamental tassel next to the horse’s neck. In addi-tion there is a quiver or gorytos placed crosswise above the shield and decorated with arcs open-ing toward the bottom. Next to the tassel is an object which on the basis of its position could be interpreted as a shield grip, but which in form rather resembles a sword hilt with a pommel in the shape of an eagle, a type that is found on short swords such as the machaira or kopis.

Interpretation

It is probable that this relief is the central panel from a grave naiskos.28 However, whereas in most funerary reliefs the deceased persons themselves are depicted, in this case the deceased can hardly be the groom, who is a servant, still less the horse. It is more reasonable to assume that the relief was erected in honour of the individual whose horse and armour were depicted and whose high rank was to be emphasized by the depiction of a servant. The identity of the de-ceased has yet to be determined.Although the relief was erected in Athens, the weapons suggest that he was not of Attic origin. A study of the armour and weaponry yields the following results. The helmet can be identified as that of a cavalryman. Parallels are to be found in Macedonia, Asia Minor, and North Af-rica.29 In the Greek motherland, by contrast, the type seen here does not occur. The shield cannot safely be attributed to any particular cultural sphere, since depictions show round

Both garments were likewise given rich ornamentation by means of the polychromy: the chiton has two bands of dark blue at the hem and two vertical bands with wavy edges on the left flank; there are further remnants of dark blue below the neckline that probably also derive from a band or ornament.19 On the inside and outside of the himation there was a large area of now blackish colour which on the long sides of the material ends in long, slightly curved radiating lines and on the short sides in short sickle-shaped curves [figS. 18–21]. In addition, parallel to the edges there are, on the long sides, lines of various colours placed one above the other, and on the short sides a further row of sickles. The edge of the short side is bordered by a golden band on top of a violet layer acting as a fixative [fig. 22] and beside it a line now of a greyish-yellowish colour;20 the function of a further bright yellow band beneath the violet layer is not clear. The basic colour or colours of the garments cannot be determined with certainty, even though there are remnants of red on the chiton and remnants of pink on the himation which do not form part of the other decorative elements. The sandals were painted red on top of the soles and their sides were decorated with two red stripes which, according to Louis Couve, who excavated the sculpture, framed a golden band between them [fig. 7].21

Interpretation

The polychrome treatment enhanced the value of the sculpture. The viewer saw garments with decoration that was unusually elaborate and also contained gold. In contrast to the customary decoration of Hellenistic garments with one or two ornamental bands parallel to the hem, the clothing here stands out as exceptional, and consequently not only raised the value of the object but also possibly suggests that the subject was of high status – an aspect which lends greater precision to the interpretation.

Example 2: A Relief with a Horse and a Young Groom22

The power of polychrome additions to convey information is more apparent still in a relief from Athens that was probably once the central panel of a grave naiskos [fig. 23]. The relief shows a horse resisting the control of a groom standing beside it. Almost every element of this representation made of Pentelic marble bears traces of its erstwhile polychromy:23

The horse’s body, for example, is of a light brownish-pink colour [fig. 24]. The panther or lion skin on the horse’s back has a red hem and fringe as well as red on the lips or the gums. The boy wears a tunic-like garment with two bands running over the shoulders, as is typical of this type of garment [fig. 25].24 On his feet, boots were painted which – nowadays at least – are black and contrast with the marble [figS. 26–27]. The most significant feature is the boy’s flesh: although already his physiognomy suggests that he is probably of African descent, it is above all


24 Horse. Detail of fig. 23 26 Boot. Detail of fig. 23

27 Boot with artificial

accentuation of painted

strap. Detail of fig. 23

28 Flesh of groom. Detail of

fig. 23

29 Hair of groom. Detail of

fig. 23

24

26 27

28

29

23 Relief of horse and

groom from Athens.

National Archaeological

Museum of Athens, 4464

33 Surface of relief. Detail

of fig. 23

34 Surface of relief with

artificial accentuation of

painted weapons. Detail of

fig. 23

34

32

30 Whip. Detail of fig. 23 31 Reins. Detail of fig. 23

32 Picked surface of relief.

Detail of fig. 23

31

30

30

162 163

* This paper summarizes the main aspects that have emerged to date in the research into the polychromy of Hellenistic sculpture and terracottas that I am undertaking in connec-tion with my dissertation. The fact that I was able to carry out a detailed examination of the objects, to which I refer, in their present locations was due to the generous coopera-tion of Nikolaos Kaltsas and Chrysanthi Tsouli (Athens), Andreas Scholl and Martin Maischberger (Berlin), Ian Jenkins and Peter Higgs (London), as well as the Gerda Henkel Stiftung, which is financing my project.

1 See DNP 10 (2001), p. 50, under “Polychromie” (Koch).2 Colour analyses: Mau and Farrell 1993, pp. 55–62; Higgins

2001, pp. 313–15; Bouquillon et al. 2003, pp. 299–300; Jeammet et al. 2007, pp. 193–202.

3 See the analysis of substances in Middleton 2001, pp. 307–12. This interpretation is supported by similar layers which serve as a ground for painting in other epochs, as Harald Theiss, conservator at the Liebieghaus, has verbally confir-med.

4 Only the holes survive. See Paris Louvre MNB 559 (possi-bly a fan), ill. in Jeammet 2003, p. 176, no. 118; Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz, An-tikensammlung TC 7420 (perhaps a stick or switch), ill. in Kriseleit and Zimmer 1994, pp. 108–09, no. 27; possibly Staatliche Antikensammlungen Munich 8768 (the strings of the kithara), ill. in Hamdorf 1996, p. 117, no. 146.

5 Athens, National Archaeological Museum 1827. See n. 17 below.

6 In the Hellenistic period, crêpe-like fabrics were customa-rily used for the chiton: Bieber 1934, p. 35.

7 On attached elements and the pinholes for them in Ar-chaic and Classical sculpture see Patay-Horváth 2008.

8 For pierced ears see for example Athens, National Archaeo-logical Museum 231: Despinis 1994, pl. 42. The relief: Athens, National Archaeological Museum 4464, see n. 21 below. The Mausoleum horse: British Museum 1857.12–20.238 (1002): ill. in Ian Jenkins 2006, fig. 220.

For the addition of a fan to the Delian sculpture see terra-cottas: Louvre MNB 452, S 1664 and MNB 559, in: Jeammet 2003, pp. 176–77, nos. 118, 120; pp. 180–82, no. 125. Also British Museum: Burn and Higgins 2001, nos. 2061, 2086.

9 Compare the results regarding the terracottas, n. 2 above,

with Bourgeois and Jockey 2007, pp. 174–80 and Piening 2007, pp. 202–05.

10 So far it is only on Hellenistic sculptures from Delos that a white layer containing lead has been identified which could have served as a ground for painting: Bourgeois and Jockey 2007, p. 181.

11 Reuterswärd 1960, pp. 171, 174–180.12 Athens, National Archaeological Museum 4464, see n. 21

below. Also Hamburg, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe 1961.1: JbHambKuSamml 7 (1962), pp. 230–33. The figures on the Alexander Sarcophagus also seem to have been co-loured all over: Mendel I 1912, pp. 172–77.

13 Reuterswärd 1960, pp. 171, 174–75.14 Christie’s. Antiquities, auction catalogue, London, 18

October 2005, p. 32, no. 41. On polychromy see Antiken aus rheinischem Privatbesitz, 1973, pp. 211–13.

15 British Museum 1914.10–20.1.16 British Museum 1981.2–10.9.17 See: Blume 2007.18 Athens, National Archaeological Museum 1827. Most re-

cently discussed in Vorster 2007, p. 68; Kaltsas 2002, p. 268, no. 561. Also Kreeb 1998, pp. 162–63. On some of the polychrome traces see Couve 1895, p. 483; Couve 1897, p 24; Yfantidis 1984, no. 93; Bourgeois and Jockey 2001, p. 660; Bourgeois and Jockey 2005, pp. 280, 301.

19 For the vertical waved bands and the hem see Brinkmann 2003, figs. 313–14, 316.

20 For the violet substance, items for comparison include a gilded ivory plaque (IN 1571) and the belt of a statue of a muse (IN 162) in the Liebieghaus, Frankfurt. Ills. in black and white in Bol 1997, figs. 13, 105.21 Couve 1895, p. 483.

22 Athens, National Archaeological Museum, 4464. Most re-cently discussed in Palagia 2003, pp. 140–51; Kaltsas 2002, p. 206, no. 415. Also: Schuchhardt 1978, pp. 75–99. On some of the polychrome traces see Reuterswärd 1958, pp. 62–64; Yfantidis 1984, no. 39.

23 A detailed description of the surviving polychromy cannot be included here for reasons of space, but will be given in my dissertation.

24 Comparable examples of this type of garment may be found for instance in a painting from a tomb near Kasanlăk in Bulgaria: Shikova 1973, pls. 29, 31, 34. As is shown by

shields with tassels associated with both Greeks and their opponents, for example Amazons.30 Supposing the interpretation of one of the objects as a sword hilt with an eagle’s head to be correct, then the sword in question would be a short one of a type used chiefly by Eastern peoples such as the Persians, but also by Macedonians.31 The quiver has parallels in the Scythi-an and Thracian world, among Persians and Macedonians.32 Macedonia thus seems to emerge as the region where all the arms and armour depicted are known to have existed. What is more, the wild animal skin on the horse’s back can also provide information about the individual to whom the tomb was dedicated. It is likewise not an element found in typical Greek represen-tations, but, again, one that is known from depictions of Amazons, Scythians, Thracians, and especially Macedonians.33 What is more, a study by Hanns Gabelmann has shown that capari-sons made from wild animal skins were objects of high value and used only by persons of high status such as commanders of the cavalry.34

If one bears in mind that the relief was erected in Athens, the interpretation of the non-Attic elements as Macedonian is strengthened by consideration of the city’s political situation. From 337 to 287 and 262 to 229 BC, Athens was under Macedonian rule, the extent and nature of which underwent many changes but which makes it very probable that there were always Macedonians resident and active in the Attic region.35

The weapons, the wild animal skin and the young groom all provide the viewer with indica-tions as to the high rank of the deceased. In general the depiction of a servant or slave empha-sizes the status of his master; here, however, that status is further enhanced by the fact that he was assigned not an ordinary groom but a boy whose skin colour is dark, in other words an exotic figure. Literary sources provide plentiful evidence of a keen interest in all that was for-eign and exotic during the Hellenistic period, and testify to the fact that, in the Greek region, dark-skinned servants were considered special.36 Without his dark skin colour, this young groom would be colourless and one among many – as regards not only his appearance but also the meaning he conveys.

Conclusion

Considered in their entirety, the polychrome additions to Hellenistic terracottas and sculp-tures have a very important bearing on their interpretation; they enhance the sculptural repre-sentation and convey highly significant information.We should therefore not make it our sole aim to reconstruct the original polychrome appear-ance of the objects. The insights gained through the examination of polychrome decoration can also advance stylistic research, as well as allowing these sculptures to be interpreted more precisely with reference to cultural and social history. Colour does have a story to tell.


164 165

wall paintings of a tomb near Aghios Athanasios, armed guards or warriors can also wear a garment of this kind, but they are usually dressed in further garments such as a hi-mation or headdress: Tsibidou-Avloniti 2005, pls. 32, 35–37.25 On the representation of African physiognomy, see Bolender 2000, p. 91; Snowden 1970, pp. 1–29.

26 Schuchhardt describes the boy’s skin and hair as being painted black: Schuchhardt 1978, p. 82. However, the good and uniform degree of preservation of the violet-blue layer on the flesh and of the orange-brown colour on the hair suggests that these areas did not change and that the violet-blue was not originally black.

27 It is possible that a garment and a corselet were also painted on the back, as Olga Palagia suggests: Palagia 2003, p. 145.

28 There has been discussion about whether the relief consi-sted of more than the two slabs: Mallwitz 1978, pp. 96–97; Palagia 2003, p. 143. Since the composition is complete in itself and the objects painted on it exactly fill the available space, the existence of a further slab with a relief is unlikely. The back of the boy’s head is only minimally cut off, and the horse’s tail might have been continued either in the form of sculpture unattached to a background or on the assumed naiskos.

29 This type of helmet is influenced by both the Boethian and the pilos form: Waurick 1988, p. 157; Dintsis 1986, p. 20. On its use by cavalry soldiers see, among others, Xe-nophon, Peri Hippikes XII 3. Parallels include a Macedo-nian coin from the time of Philip V or Perseus: SNG. Co-penhagen. Macedonia I 1943, pl. 33, no. 1288; a bronze helmet from Alexandria: Waurick 1988, p. 158, fig. 15; a hel-met on a frieze of weapons from Ephesus: Seiterle 1982, pl. 27.3. A depiction of a related type of helmet worn by hor-semen may be found for instance on the Alexander Sar-cophagus in Schefold 1968, figs. 51, 55 in contrast to the foot soldier in pl. 57. Previously, an Attic helmet of a diffe-rent type was erroneously adduced for comparison: Palagia 2003, p. 145.

30 See Arias and Hirmer 1960, figs. 125, 139, 144, 146, 173, 176–79; Raeck 1981, figs. 4, 7, 29–30, 53.

31 Compare: an Amazon on a vase by the Niobides painter: Arias and Hirmer 1960, fig. 179; frieze of weapons from Pergamon: Bohn and Droysen 1885, pls. 45, 47; swords from Aigai, Macedonia: Pandermalis 2004, p. 57.

32 On Scythians see Snodgrass 1984, figs. 94–96; Thracians: Raeck 1981, fig. 7; Persians: Raeck 1981, fig. 59; a gorytos from Aigai, Macedonia: Drougou and Saatsoglou-Paliadeli 1999, fig. 64; a quiver with similar decoration: Conze and Michaelis 1893, pp. 285–86, no. 1320, pl. 277; Bäbler 1998, pp. 180–81, 263, no. 91; Posamentir 2006, cat. 26.33 Gabel-mann 1996, p. 23.

34 Gabelmann 1996, pp. 19–21. See also, for example, a simi-lar caparison with paws on the Alexander Sarcophagus: Brinkmann 2007, figs. 329, 360e.

35 For a more precise dating of the relief it is necessary to take into account the laws introduced by Demetrios of Phale-ron forbidding excessively luxurious tombs. See Engels 1998, pp. 135–36. On Hellenistic Athens: Habicht 1995. Olga Palagia suggests that the tomb relief may have been erected in honour of the Athenian general Phokion: Pala-gia 2003, p. 150.

36 Dihle 1994, pp. 67–104; Jerome Jordan Pollitt 1986, pp. 147–49. On illustrations: Himmelmann 1971, pp. 31–35; Bolender 2000. Sources: Theophrastos, Characters 21; Athenaios, Deipnosophistae IV.148.


when colour tells a story. the polychromy of hellenistic sculpture and terracottas

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