A Review of Copying Techniques in Greco-Roman Sculpture

This paper deals with the different techniques of copying or reproduction used or probably used in Greco-Roman marble sculpture. It appears that these techniques changed during the course of time. It would be interesting to make an inventory of all possibilities, by taking a historical point, interpreting the analysis of traces on unfinished and on finished statues, placing these techniques in historical and geographical contexts. It will be also necessary to propose new hypotheses with the help of new methodological approaches. What can we say about the reproduction of models or statues in marble during the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods? This article first presents the use of modules (drawn or mathematical) during the Archaic period and the different clues to the use of reproduction during that time. Then, it considers the different hypotheses which were proposed for the Classical period and the clues visible on archaeological pieces will be considered. Experimental research of a copying technique observed at Delos and used in the Hellenistic period during the 2nd century BC will be presented. My experimental research at Delos shows the necessity for statuary production to be adapted to a new context of the consumption of statues. We also look at the Roman techniques, the clues and the hypotheses proposed. Consideration of the tools would also be interesting, but the focus here will be on the archaeological objects and their traces. For this purpose, I put store by a methodological analysis of material in the manner of scholars of prehistory. It would be also interesting to try to propose some way to progress on these questions: methodological and comparative analysis, ethno-archaeology, interdisciplinary collaborations