Roman Marble Porphyry Statue

In antiquity porphyry was highly regarded as a royal stone because its color was associated with the regal and in roman times imperial use of purple to symbolize rank and authority.

Roman marble porphyry statue.

In addition this very hard stone is found only in the eastern deserts of egypt making its extraction and transport extremely difficult and costly. Roman marble foot 1st 3rd century ad. A roman porphyry and marble statue of apollo with a lyre. Ancient rome ancient greece ancient history european history ancient aliens american history chef d oeuvre oeuvre d art apollo statue.

Greek marble statues. Porphyry is a textural term for an igneous rock consisting of large grained crystals such as feldspar or quartz dispersed in a fine grained silicate rich generally aphanitic matrix or groundmass the larger crystals are called phenocrysts in its non geologic traditional use the term porphyry refers to the purple red form of this stone valued for its appearance. Some of the pieces to take special note of are the belvedere torso the sculpture of the emperor augustus and the giant bronze statue of hercules an excellent example of a roman god statue which lies in the room with nero s giant porphyry bath. Ancient roman marble statue sculpture head of a bearded man with a cap.

Imperial porphyry was used for panels floor tiles statues sarcophagi and for the pillars of official buildings throughout the roman world. At one time this imitation was taken by art historians as indicating a narrowness of the roman artistic imagination but in the late 20th century. Our statues range from indoor small statues to large life size outdoor lawn and garden sculptures from modern contemporary art carving to replicas of the classic ancient world s famous statues and sculptures including italian roman marble statues such as king david sculpture by michelangelo and venus de milo sculpture. The roman forum.

Most of the sculptures from the ancient roman forum are no longer there to be. It probably formed part of the decorations of the philadelphion in constantinople and was removed to venice in 1204 or soon after. The study of roman sculpture is complicated by its relation to greek sculpture many examples of even the most famous greek sculptures such as the apollo belvedere and barberini faun are known only from roman imperial or hellenistic copies. It is made from porphyry a rare egyptian rock with a distinct reddish purple coloring and is meant to emphasize imperial power.

Tiberius quickly established a quarry on mons porphyry and began to use the stone for the decoration of imperial palaces and other buildings. However the sculpture s subject matter style and materials all allude to the enlarged structure of the late roman empire. From the farnese collection. Later emperors continued the tradition.

The portrait of the four tetrarchs is a porphyry sculpture group of four roman emperors dating from around 300 ad.