DiscussionTogate portrait statue of emperor ( Arcadius or Valentinian II). Aphrodisias (Caria). 388-392. DESCRIPTION (Object)Life-size statue. H: 188, W: 66.0, D: 34.5 cm. Head H: 21 cm. Plinth: H: 8, W: 57, D: 34 cm. White marble. High quality statue made in one piece from plinth to head. Preserved in five main fragments. Missing: right forearm, left hand, left ankle, part of nose. PROVENANCE Found in 1904-1905 near the centre of the west stoa of the South Agora, at the steps up to the forecourt of the Hadrianic Baths. Columnar statue bases for Arcadius (LSA-164) and Valentinian II (LSA-166) were found here and probably flanked the entrance stairs. This statue seems to have been found closer to the base of Arcadius (LSA-164). DESCRIPTION (Subject) The statue belongs to the Theodosian imperial group set up by the prefect Flavius Eutolmius Tatianus in AD 388-392. The emperor wears covered and cross-strapped boots, a sleeved tunic, colobium, and the short late toga. He probably held a mappa in his right hand and sceptre in his left hand, both now missing. The figure is supported by a scroll bundle. The imperial portrait is clean-shaven, youthful, and wears a pearl-edged diadem. The hair is brushed forward into a plain fringe. The eyes have a finely engraved iris line and clearly articulated heart-shaped pupils. DATE The associated bases bear inscriptions that date the statue (LSA-164 and (LSA-166) precisely in the years AD 388-392. Main ReferenceInan, J. and E. Rosenbaum, Roman and Early Byzantine Portrait Sculpture in Asia Minor, Oxford 1966, no. 66Delbrueck, R., Spätantike Kaiserporträts. Von Constantinus Magnus bis zum Ende des Westreichs , Leipzig 1933, 195-8, pl. 92, figs. 67-8. Smith, R.R.R., "Statue life in the Hadrianic Baths at Aphrodisias, AD 100-600: Local context and historical meaning", in F.A. Bauer, C. Witschel (eds.), Statuen und Statuensammlungen in der Spätantike - Funktion und Kontext (Spätantike, Frühes Christentum, Byzanz: Kunst im ersten Jahrtausend), Wiesbaden 2007, 228 no. A 37 Mendel, G., Musées impériaux ottomans. Catalogue des sculptures grecques, romaines et byzantines, Istanbul 1912-1914, no. 506 Discussion ReferencesFıratlı, N., La sculpture byzantine figurée au Musée archéologique d'Istanbul, Paris 1990, 6, no. 4, pl. 2 Stichel, R. H. W., Die römische Kaiserstatue am Ende der Antike, Roma 1982, 45, pls. 7-8 |
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