‘THASIAN' MARBLE SCULPTURES IN EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN COLLECTIONS: ISOTOPIC AND OTHER ANALYSES

No single analytical technique is usually sufficient to unambiguously attribute a marble object to a particular quarry source in the Mediterranean world, and a number of research groups have emphasized the importance of using a multi-method approach. One exception to this rule is the Cape Vathy source on the island of Thasos in the northern Aegean, an important marble source in antiquity (Herz 1988; Herrmann 1992; Herrmann & Newman 1995). Cape Vathy appears to have been the only dolomitic marble source used in the Mediterranean region. Stable isotope analyses of dolomitic marble sculptures are all consistent with a Thasian origin, indicating that a simple, inexpensive and essentially non-destructive ‘dolomite test' can be used to determine whether a marble piece is from Cape Vathy (Tykot et al. 1996).

Several hundred samples were collected from Greek and Roman statues and reliefs, in museums and private collections in Europe and the United States, that appeared to have been carved in marble from Cape Vathy on Thasos. X-ray diffraction was used to test for the presence of dolomite, with the finding that 75% of the ‘Thasian'-appearing sculptures were in fact dolomitic. Stable isotope analyses of the dolomitic sculptures have reconfirmed their Thasian attribution; these analytical data serve to further refine the isotopic field for Thasian marble, and may potentially allow the identification of discrete quarry areas exploited at different times in the past. Isotopic analyses of the calcite marble sculptures add to the more than 100 analyses that we have reported at the last two ASMOSIA meetings (van der Merwe et al. 1995; 1999). As the number of sculptures with quarry attributions grows, contributions are made to our understanding of chronological, geographic, and art historical patterns in marble use.

Herrmann, J.J. Jr. 1992. Exportation of dolomitic marble from Thasos: evidence from European and North American collections. In M. Waelkens, N. Herz & L. Moens (eds.), Ancient Stones: Quarrying, Trade and Provenance. Acta Archaeologica Lovaniensia Monographiae 4: 93-104. Leuven University Press.

Herrmann, J.J. Jr. & R. Newman. 1995. The exportation of dolomitic sculptural marble from Thasos. In Y. Maniatis, N. Herz & Y. Basiakos (eds.), The Study of Marble and Other Stones used in Antiquity, 73-86. Archetype, London.

Herz, N. 1988. Classical marble quarries of Thasos. In G.A. Wagner & G. Weisgerver (eds.), Antike Edel- und Buntmetallgewinnung auf Thasos, 32-240. Selbstverlag des Deutsches Bergbau-Museums, Bochum.

Tykot, R.H., J.J. Herrmann Jr., N.J. van der Merwe & R. Newman. 1996. On the attribution to Thasos of dolomitic marble sculpture and architectural elements. 98th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, New York. Abstract in American Journal of Archaeology 101(1997): 369.

van der Merwe, N.J., J.J. Herrmann Jr., R.H. Tykot, R. Newman & N. Herz. 1995. Stable carbon and oxygen isotope source tracing of marble sculptures in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Sackler Museum, Harvard. In Y. Maniatis, N. Herz & Y. Basiakos (eds.), The Study of Marble and Other Stones used in Antiquity, 187-197. Archetype, London.

van der Merwe, N.J., R.H. Tykot, J.J. Herrmann Jr. & R. Newman. 1999. Isotopic source determination of Greek and Roman marble sculptures in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: recent analyses. In M. Schvoerer (ed.), Proceedings of ASMOSIA IV (Bordeaux, October 1995).