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Source Image: PR316_04_20 of Marmara Adası Quarries: Miscellaneous Architecture

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Description

Part-worked capital from the Prokonnesian quarries.

Monument
Marmara Adası Quarries: Miscellaneous Architecture 
Monument Type
Architecture 
Material(s)
Prokonnesian Marble (Visual identification)  
Date
post bc 50 - pre ad 600 
Keywords
Corinthian CapitalRoughed-out Object  
Collections
Marmara Adası  

Location

Original Location
Marmara Adası 
Current Location
Saraylar 

Evidence for working practices

1. Toolmarks

Process
Roughing-out
Tool
Point
Method
Angle: Steep (60-70°)
Force: Medium
Description
Several different stages of work are visible on this capital showing that the sculptor responsible did not simply work through each stage in sequence. Rough point chiselling, the first stage of work can be seen around the middle of the capital, especially on the projecting sections that will be carved into acanthus leaf spirals.

2. Toolmarks

Process
Rough shaping
Tool
Tooth Chisel
Method
Angle: Shallow (40-50°)
Force: Medium
Description
The top of the capital around the abacus has been carved with a tooth chisel, as has the zone into which the lower tier of acanthus leaves has started being carved.

3. Toolmarks

Process
Fine shaping
Tool
Flat Chisel
Method
Angle: Shallow (40-50°)
Force: Gentle
Description
The lower tier of acanthus leaves are in the process of being carved in detail with the flat chisel. The sculptor was apparently content to jump straight from the flat tooth-chiselled surface on the bottom of the capital into the carving of these leaves without any intermediate stage of rough shaping the forms.

Notes

These roughed-out elements, mainly capitals, were recovered from the quarries on Prokonnesos and are now on display in an open-air museum in Saraylar, the small harbour on the north side of the island. Most of these elements were probably abandoned because of faults in the stone or because they were surplus to requirements. Sometimes, however, faults have developed in the stone since antiquity, so that identifying exactly why these objects were never used is difficult. Whether these objects were produced in large quantities for stockpiling at the quarries or were produced to order remains debated but it is clear that the quarries contained skilled craftsmen, based there permanently or passing through, capable of preparing a range of forms for export.

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