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Volume 101 No. 4
October 1997
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Figured Pilaster Capitals from Aphrodisias
Sheila Dillon
This paper offers the first publication of the complete corpus of figured pilaster capitals excavated at Aphrodisias between 1965 and 1996. The focus of the study is two groups of figured capitals from two structures in the city. The first group of four capitals, decorated with figures of deities, comes from a large and lavishly appointed Late Roman house, in which they formed part of the marble wall decoration of a large apsidal hall. Comparisons with other sculpture from Aphrodisias as well as data from the excavation of the house suggest that the capitals are third-early fourth century in date. In their design and format they are part of a long and widespread tradition of figured pilaster capital design found both at Aphrodisias and elsewhere. The second group of 18 capitals, which feature putti engaged in a variety of activities, comes from a colonnade along one of the main city streets. These capitals, which represent the largest single series of this type of architectural decoration from a known context in Asia Minor, are broadly dated to the late fourth-fifth century, and show strong stylistic and technical affinities with local architectural decoration, sarcophagi, and Late Antique statuettes. This unusual series of capitals appears to represent a purely Aphrodisian tradition of pilaster capital design, and provides important evidence for the inventiveness and creativity of sculptors working in Late Antique Asia Minor.
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