SculpSi · A digital edition of Greek and Roman Sculptors’ signatures (323 BCE-138 CE)

A digital edition of Greek and Roman Sculptors’ signatures (323 BCE-138 CE)

The "Sculpsi. A digital edition of Greek and Roman Sculptors’ signatures (323 BCE-138 CE)" project was hosted at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) within the research unit UMR 7041- Archéologies et Sciences de l’Antiquité (ArScAn), and the LIMC team Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae. The LIMC team is led by Prof. Prioux (Director of Research at the CNRS) and comprises some of the world's foremost specialists in ancient iconography and history of ancient art. The research unit ArScAn is based in Nanterre, at the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme – Mondes. The project included one secondment at another laboratory under the institutional oversight of the CNRS: UMR 5189 — Histoire et Sources des Mondes Antiques (HiSoMA) in Lyon. During the project, I added the University of Paris Nanterre (a member of the UMR ArScAn) as an associated partner. SculpSi was dedicated to the study of signatures of Greek and Roman sculptors active between 323 BCE and 138 CE (the deaths of Alexander the Great and Hadrian) in the areas corresponding to Roman Italy and the provinces of Achaia and Asia. The selected geographical areas include key centers for both the production and display of sculpture. Sculptors’ signatures range from simple formulas—including only the artist’s name and the verb “to make”—to more elaborate ones that add meaningful elements such as an ethnic. Signatures could appear directly on the sculpture or on its base. Features such as cuttings (marking the position of the feet) can provide clues about the statue’s appearance and help identify its typology, allowing us to reconstruct the kinds of works produced by each artist. Beyond mere digitization, the project had two main objectives: 1. to reconstruct the biographies of sculptors attested by signatures between 323 BCE and 138 CE in the area corresponding to Roman Italy and the provinces of Achaia and Asia; 2. To better understand the role and identity of the artist in antiquity, as well as their social status, their relationship towards their works, the reason for carving a signature and to shed light on controversial categories of evidence. The results refined individual sculptors’ profiles and improved understanding of controversial documents and patterns in the use and formulation of signatures across periods and regions.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union