Archaic bronzes

This book presents a new study of Greek large-scale bronze statuary of the late Archaic and Classical periods. It examines the discovery, origin, style, date, artistic attribution, identification, and interpretation of the surviving bronzes, and focuses in particular on their technical features and casting techniques. It contains over 170 plates of photographs and drawings to illustrate its discussion.

It also places the development of the casting techniques in connection with the stylistic evolution in Greek free-standing sculpture. During the Classical period, artists preferred bronze to marble when creating their contrapposto figures. Indisputably, bronze gave particular freedom to artists in creating three-dimensional figures. In addition, the evolution in style encouraged the development of the uses of bronze to serve the new needs and tendencies in sculpture during the late Archaic and especially the Classical period. Through the examination of how technical matters affect style, this book presents fresh interpretations of these important monuments of Greek art and offers a new approach in the field of Greek free-standing bronze sculpture.

Summary:  In a special storeroom of the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, the author stumbled upon a previously unpublished tripod leg of considerable art-historical importance among ancient bronzes once held in Berlin. The author also discovered a previously unknown sketch of this piece in the archives of the Collection of Classical Antiquities (Antikensammlung) in Berlin. According to a diary entry, the tripod leg was found in 1912 not far from the so-called Rhoicos Altar in the Heraion of Samos. The front of the massive, cast tripod leg, standing on a lion’s paw, is engraved with images of different animals and hybrid creatures. Among very rare archaic tripod cauldrons with figurative decoration, it is the best-preserved specimen. No other example of the combination of legs cast as a single piece and engraving is known. Stylistic parallels suggest that it was produced in a workshop in western Asia Minor or the Ionian islands, potentially Samos or Miletos, around the middle of the 6th century B.C. Besides the interpretation that the piece was a votive offering, comparison to other
pieces suggest that it may have been used as a ritual object.

Zusammenfassung: In einem Spezialdepot des Museums der Bildenden Künste A. S. Puschkin in Moskau stieß der Verfasser im September 2010 gänzlich unerwartet auf ein archaisches Dreifußbein von erheblicher kunsthistorischer Bedeutung. Gründliche Archivstudien führten ihn anschließend zu einer ebenso unbekannten Zeichnung in der Graphothek der Berliner Antikensammlung. Ulrich Gehrig ist der freundliche Hinweis auf eine Notiz im Tagebuch der älteren Samos-Grabung zu verdanken, nach der das Dreifußbein am 24. Mai 1912 bei den Ausgrabungen der Königlichen Museen zu Berlin im Heraion von Samos gefunden wurde. Vermutlich aufgrund der durch den Ersten Weltkrieg bedingten zehnjährigen Unterbrechung der Grabungstätigkeit unterblieb seine Veröffentlichung. Zunächst befand sich das bei der Auffindung noch 44 cm hohe, heute in zwei Fragmente zerbrochene und nur 39,8 cm messende Bein im Antiquarium der Königlichen Museen (heute: Antikensammlung – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Inv. Sa. 130 Br). Nach Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs gelangte es zusammen mit vielen anderen in die Sowjetunion verlagerten Museumsbeständen nach Moskau. Das voll gegossene, auf einer plastischen Raubtierpfote stehende und mit gravierten Bildern von Tieren und Mischwesen in untereinander angeordneten Feldern verzierte Dreifußbein war ursprünglich fast vollständig erhalten. Unter den außerordentlich seltenen archaischen Dreifußkesseln mit figürlichem Dekor ist es das am besten erhaltene Beispiel. Für die Kombination von voll gegossenen Beinen und graviertem Dekor ist bisher kein zweites Beispiel bekannt. Stilistische Vergleiche mit verwandten Darstellungen der frühgriechischen Flächenkunst legen eine Entstehung des Dreifußkessels in einer westkleinasiatisch- bzw. inselionischen Werkstatt und eine Datierung in das zweite Viertel des 6. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. nahe.

The etiological study presented was produced by combining critical analyses both of the Sources and of the archaeological record. This gives the archaeological record the same value as the Sources and stimulates discussion by increasing the volume of information.
Hispanic mercenaries are constantly mentioned in the sources, fighting alternately for the Carthaginians and the Greeks. This indicates their frequent recruitment and value as a fighting force in the central Mediterranean. But the classical texts give only part of the story, and archaeology helps to provide a more complete picture of the situation.
The work has prioritized the study of weapons, accepting their value as ethnic and cultural markers, but other, indirect types of evidence have also been studied: objects associated with mercenary activity that were imported or created in the Iberian Peninsula.
The complexity and diversity of the record analysed have necessitated its division into three complementary blocks:
• First, a critical study of Hispanic materials in the places cited by the Sources, amplified by analyzing a selection of Hispanic materials found in the Mediterranean.
• Second, a review of the evidence of mercenary activity in the Mediterranean recovered in the Iberian Peninsula, classified by cultural group.
• Third, a reassessment of two groups of Hispanic weapons associated with mercenary activity (helmets and body armour). The implications of this section have led to a reformulation both of the origin of the Hispanic mercenary groups and the area in which they fought.
The materials studied delineate an area of confluence in southern Italy, where they joined numerous other groups of mercenaries of very different origins and with a varied repertoire of weapons. This scenario, where a host of materials and experiences came together, forged the active character of Hispanic mercenaries and encouraged them to adopt new customs and new material techniques, modifying their military panoply and system of fighting. Thus, in the course of the period studied, the Hispanic mercenary went from being a mistophoros to being an active ally in the wars of Sicily and southern Italy.
The results of this work are just the starting point for investigating the situation as a whole. Its complete reconstruction will require continuous study, a review of the types of materials and the interpretations proposed here and a dialogue amongst researchers. The Hispanic mercenary should be analysed from a ‘glocal’ perspective, one which combines Hispanic historical and archaeological revision and sets it in a Mediterranean context.

The article is devoted to the attribution of a fragmented bronze krater from a Burial–mound near the village of Martonosha in the Kirovograd region of Ukraine, looted in 1870. Particular attention is paid to the features of the treatment of the relief, depicting Medusa in a kneeling running pose on the only surviving handle of the krater. Analysis of bronze reliefs close in iconography, which served as feet or decoration elements of vessels, of the features of the treatment of the face of the gorgon, its posture, the position of its hands and wings, suggest the manufacture of a crater in the framework of the last quarter of the 6th century BC, i.e. significantly later than anticipated in the Russian literature. The arguments already made by various scholars in favor of the East-Greek manufacture of the krater are confirmed not only by the fact of discoveries of bronze volute-kraters in Asia Minor (including the closest parallel to the krater under discussion, supposedly from Cilicia), but also by the careful examination of the genesis of the Gorgo images, proving the origin of the motif in East Greek art.
It is perfectly clear that the vessel from Martonosha is on a par with such unique and expensive articles as kraters from Vix and Trebenishte, which are considered by many researchers as diplomatic gifts, specially made for the barbaric elite. Both in Gaul and in the Central Balkans, the kraters found their way into burials not earlier than in the late 6th century BC, after about half a century or even more of use, being already antique objects. That means that either they were obtained as second-hand by their last owners, or they could be gifted to their predecessors, who had used them for a considerable time, before these antiquarian items were put into the graves of their descendants. We did not know how the matter was in the case of the burial from Martonosha (whether the krater was put in the burial at about the same time, in this case, shortly after manufacturing, or later), but a similar scenario cannot be ruled out.

Summary: During the excavations carried out in the early 20th century by the Royal Museums of Berlin at the Apollo sanctuary of Didyma, three unusual attachments of Greek bronze cauldrons of the Archaic period (Didyma 7; Didyma 52; Didyma 66) were found, according to the finds book. While one (Didyma 52) has been lost since the destruction of the excavation house in the First World War (1916), the other two (Didyma 7; Didyma 66) were first transferred to the Antiquarium, today's Antikensammlung - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and after 1945 by "war-related transfer" to the State Museum A. S. Pushkin in Moscow, where the author was able to identify them in 2009 and 2010, respectively, and study them in detail thanks to the kind cooperation of the then museum director, Irina Antonova, and her responsible assistant, Ludmilla Akimova. All three attachments, which were probably made in the 7th century BC, were originally characterised by three 'buttons' pointing upwards, a form for which no other parallel has yet been found despite a thorough search.

Zusammenfassung: Bei den im frühen 20. Jahrhundert durch die Königlichen Museen zu Berlin durchgeführten Ausgrabungen im Apollonheiligtum von Didyma wurden nach Auskunft des Fundbuchs drei ungewöhnliche Attaschen archaischer Bronzegefäße (Didyma 7; Didyma 52; Didyma 66) gefunden. Während eines (Didyma 52) seit der Zerstörung des Grabungshauses im Ersten Weltkrieg (1916) verschollen ist, kamen die beiden anderen (Didyma 7; Didyma 66) zunächst in das Antiquarium, die heutige Antikensammlung – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, und nach 1945 durch „kriegsbedingte Verlagerung“ in das Staatliche Museum A. S. Puschkin nach Moskau gelangten, wo sie der Verfasser in den Jahren 2009 bzw. 2010 identifizieren und dank des freundlichen Entgegenkommens der damaligen Museumsleiterin, Irina Antonova, und ihrer verantwortlichen Mitarbeiterin, Ludmilla Akimova, eingehend studieren konnte. Alle drei wohl noch im 7. Jh. v. Chr. entstandenen Attaschen zeichneten sich ursprünglich durch drei nach oben weisende ‚Knöpfe’ aus, eine Form, für die sich trotz gründlicher Suche bislang keine weitere Parallele finden ließ.

Sicilian and Italic votive objects found in the sanctuary of Delphi do not constitute a homogeneous group: there are different categories of objects, mostly bronze vessel, weapon and ornament, and it is not easy to know precisely their origin. The presence of objects from different regions such as Central Italy or Sicily in the Panhellenic sanctuary raises many questions, about the social identity of the donors, the reasons for the consecration of those objects and the particular relationships between Delphi and the occidental world. Indeed, Sicilian and Italic documents are not specific of Delphi, but they are evidence of connections that offer several patterns for the frequentation of the sanctuary of Apollo. In particular, they allow to examine the part played by the oracle and the colonization in the frequentation of the sanctuary.

The earliest traces of imported goods from the Mediterranean south are typical for Glasinac plateau. During the eighth century BC there was a rise in livestock aristocracy in Glasinac area. Prominent individuals were able to mobilize larger labor force
for the construction of public facilities, as well as to show their power through the ownership of prestigious items. One of the markers of the new ruling class is the emergence of imported metal vessels, which is a theme to be discussed in this paper. Parts of metal vessel sets were found only in grave  assemblages dated from the early 7th century to the end of the 5th century. Besides being the distinctive grave goods found
in princely graves, from the 5th century they become
a part of the inventory of luxury warrior graves of
Glasinac area. Most of the imported metal vessels from Glasinac were produced in south Italic and /or Etruscan
workshops. There were two main forms of distribution of goods from southern Italy and Etruria: direct trade and exchange with local communities along the coastline and/or trading through colonial intermediaries on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. The first model whereby the imported material came directly
to the local communities without an intermediary is less likely. The fact is that there is no evidence yet of the large settlements of indigenous population with a capacity to accept goods and carry out further redistribution. This, clearly, does not imply the inferior position of the local communities. Nevertheless, the
social structure itself and the economic strategy of the early communities of the Iron Age on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea were not focused on the urbanization or creation of a wide network of monopoly over trade and exchange. A direct contact would have indicated much more imported finds among the local aristocracy's grave goods, which was not the case. The number of imported finds is very small on the Adriatic shoreline and in the immediate hinterland when compared with the Glasinac plateau and further inland. The model of colonial intermediary is a more probable answer to the question where the goods from Italic centres ended up. Along with the Italic
imports somewhat bigger in number, the Greek continental goods included mainly phialae and cups. The origin of imported objects found among the "barbarians" in Glasinac is mostly interpreted through their economic activity, with a strong Greek economic and social component bringing changes to the barbaric hinterland. These postulates were later criticised by
researchers. Although the imported objects played an important role in defining the social prestige, they did not have power to shape up or change the existing social and political relations. Imported objects represent the symbolic power of the chief, his status and economic position, but not the origin of his power and status. Prior to contacts with Greece, the chiefs had to create objects that symbolically represented their social, military and economic power. For chiefs from Glasinac these are likely to have been lavishly ornamented grinders and/or parts of weapons.. The trade and exchange with metal vessel sets or their parts should be seen, without any doubt, as a model of redistibution through several intermediaries. Yet,
it is not always possible to make a sharp distinction between a ritual exchange and an economic exchange. Depositing metal vessel sets with chiefs is the final act of distribution and circulation of vessels in the society.

Am 10. Oktober 1864 entdeckte man bei Arbeiten für die Pfälzische Bahn in Bad Dürkheim ein Prunkgrab aus der Frühlatènezeit. Bereits im gleichen Jahr gelangten einige Funde aus der Bestattung in die Restaurierungswerkstätten des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums in Mainz.
1865 wurden dann die Beigaben vom Historischen Museum der Pfalz in Speyer erworben. 150 Jahre später, am selben Tag, wird das Jubiläum der Grabentdeckung von beiden Museen mit einem wissenschaftlichen Kolloquium gefeiert.

In 1938 Giovanni Becatti found a travertine relief in Ostia near the eastern front of the temple of Hercules. This is a votive relief dating from the first third of the 1st century BC with inscriptions reading „C·FULVIUS·SALVIS·HARUSPEXS·D·D” and „ORT·H”. It is widely accepted that the relief can be divided into three narrative scenes, the first one depicting a larger than life bronze statue netted from the sea by fishermen. The statue belongs to the 6th century BC iconographic type of „Herakles Promachos”. I try to determine – as much as it is possible – the chronology and the geographical occurrence of this picture motive in the hope of a better understanding of the art historical and maritime context of this unique artifact. It is unique because it can provide answers to a series of questions from the late Archaic Period to Late Antiquity, Late Archaic bronze sculpture workshops in Greece, the impact of Greek art on Roman art, the history of the cult of Hercules in Ostia, the iconography of Herakles Promachos, the question of the „Pagan Revival”, as well as the presence of Greek sculptures in Ostia etc. Recently D.R. Boin suggested that the statue pictured on the relief cannot be Hercules but the god Vulcan. He attempted to question not only the presence of the Hercules cult in Ostia but also the late fourth century „pagan revival” which was described by H. Bloch as early as in 1945. Does the archaeological evidence really support Boin’s suggestion? And how did the statue get to Ostia? I try to interpret the relief in a Mediterranean perspective.

An assemblage of Picenian bronze objects »from Tarragona« in the Episcopal Museum of Vic
(Barcelona / E)
The present paper deals with an assemblage of bronze finds, which entered the Episcopal Museum of Vic
at the beginning of the 20th century. The original interest of the study was the ascribing of the collection
to a find from the neighbourhood of Tarragona. The assemblage is conspicuous, as it belongs to a group of jewellery and costume of the Adriatic type dating chronologically to between the mid-7th and mid-6th
century B.C. (Picenum phase IV). The lack of data concerning the discovery, the rarity of objects of Adriatic
origins in the western Mediterranean, as well as the different composition in comparison with the other
contemporary hoards led to a discussion and critique of the assemblage. This example indicates the necessity
of checking museums’ collections, in order to gather information and to illustrate problems. In this case
we are dealing with the first Italian imports in the West as preparatory work for the appropriate analysis of
the Italian fibulae.
The study comes to the conclusion that the depot from the Episcopal Museum of Vic was purchased as a
complete assemblage on the international antique market. This type of grouping corresponds to normal
strategy and business practice for the selling of finds from the Picenum during the first quarter of the 20th
century.

R. Graells, Un conjunt de bronzes “trobat a Tarragona” del Museu Episcopal de Vic, In: XV Col•loqui internacional d’arqueologia de Puigcerdà: La transició Bronze Final – 1a Edat del Ferro en el Pirineu Oriental, Puigcerdà, 17 - 19 de novembre del 2011 (Puigcerdà 2015), 711-723.