Dissertation

Figural Sculpture in Roman Britain and Its Continental Relationships

Coombe, Penny

2021

Overview

Roman sculpture was in many ways remarkably homogenous across the empire, but there was also significant local adaptation. The similarities between sculpture in the Roman provinces of Britannia, Germania Inferior and Germania Superior have been observed, but no comprehensive survey of the similarities and differences, and the reasons for those, has yet been conducted. Indeed, scholarship has inadvertently become rather parochial, but recent studies suggest there is much to be gained by looking across provincial boundaries. This thesis aims to do that analysis and consider different geographies of art. Three case studies (rider relief tombstones, Mother Goddess dedications, and imperial portraits) elucidate the variation in use and appearance of certain types of sculpture in military, religious and socio-political contexts. Explanation of the observations noted in the case studies are advanced and explained, and modalities of movements of form and technique assessed. The conclusions show that sculpture in Britain and Germany looks similar but not the same because local circumstances both required and allowed consistency and variance to different degrees over time. Specific interactions or movements of people, access to raw materials, technical tradition of makers, and demand from consumers all affected the appearance of sculpture to different extents. The interplay of transmission of standard or universal form and local adaptation is the main theme of this work.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses