Chersonesan Studies 1: The Polychrome Grave Stelai from the Early Hellenistic Necropolis

5. Stelai from Inside the Tower of Zeno

168 Chersonesan Studies 1: The Polychrome Grave Stelai Figure 5.1 Diagram of workshop affiliations among stelai from the Tower of Zeno. 169 5 Stelai from Inside the Tower of Zeno Among the gravestones recovered from the Tower of Zeno, several were so similar in form, iconography and overall appearance—although their state of preservation sometimes disguises these similarities—that they could be identified as a group almost at a glance. It was thus possible to begin dividing the entire collection into groups, with the assumption that these were associated with separate workshops (Fig. 5.1). This impression was confirmed by the in-depth use of the photographic analysis described in the previous chapters , which allowed the detection and assessment of all kinds of information about the material, toolmarks, coloring, and technical characteristics. In addition to the similarities among the stones’ exteriors that were frequently revealed by that analysis, still more surprising dissimilarities emerged. This applies especially to the different methods used to smooth the various surfaces of the different groups of stelai, differences that were unexpectedly enhanced by the UV-fluorescence photography. The two different categories employed in the following discussion are briefly defined here: Workshop. Producer of a group of gravestones —the “core group.” The stelai share the same appearance and features and show far-reaching similarities in proportions , toolmarks, paint and technical details . A workshop consisted most likely of one artisan (the “master”), with perhaps a few more artisans working under one roof. Circle of a workshop. Producer of a group of gravestones that share a similar appearance with the stones of the core group. Showing the same features, these stelai display minor variations in proportions, toolmarks, paint, and technical details. A circle of a workshop consisted most likely of several other artisans influenced by the master, who worked either under the same or under another roof. The boundaries between “workshop” and “circle of a workshop” group must perforce somewhat flexible : there is inevitably some degree of subjectivity when one assesses handmade objects made by different artisans. The criteria used to ascribe a particular gravestone to a workshop or a circle, as well as those for determining a stele’s likely significance for the groupings presented here, are discussed below. The discovery that workshops could be accurately identified made the reevaluation of the grave stelai of Chersonesos imperative because it implied that this was one of those rare occasions when it would be possible to trace the work and the development of one or more stele workshops over a specific period of time. Similar attempts have been made in the past, focusing on grave stelai or groups of specific grave monuments from various other regional artistic styles (Kunstlandschaften ), primarily Attica.1 Such endeavors, however, have seldom been rewarded with great success, and in some cases they have been the object of severe criticism .2 One group of grave stelai from Rhamnous may constitute an exception: those stelai were manufactured by a local workshop for specific families, and the families also may well have been related.3 In general , though, the small quantity of material available for analysis has destined such attempts to failure. The case of Athens represented the other extreme from a typical polis community. There the quantity of gravestones proved to be an extremely nonhomogeneous group, reflecting a diverse range of influences, and most of the monuments have no documented origin. It is true that the attempts made in other locations always involved grave stelai depicting figures rendered in relief. This can make it considerably more difficult 1 See Kaltenhäuser 1938, 39–50; Vierneisel-Schlörb 1976, 84–87, and above all Frel 1969; Frel 1970, 367–371; Frel/Kingsley 1970, 197–218; more recently for simple shaft stelai, Hildebrandt 2006, 68–73; for Attic marble lekythoi see Schmaltz 1970, 28–51. For a similar approach to distinguish certain workshops and workshop-traditions see Wolters 1969, 23–29 on the atticizing anthemia from Demetrias. 2 CAT, Introductory 100–109; on the marble lekythoi, 250. Schmaltz (1983, 125–32) is generally skeptical. 3 CAT, Introductory 107; Frel 1969, 52–53. 170 Chersonesan Studies 1: The Polychrome Grave Stelai to recognize many types of correlations—but it can also, of course, make it easier to do so. When not following standard compositions, figural depictions can differ considerably in motif and overall appearance from one another, and we are therefore forced to rely on stylistic...