Adornment, or décor, in its many forms and articulations, is one aspect of artistic and architectural production in antiquity that generates a large number of citations and sources while remaining elusive and difficult to define. This volume, DDA – Dire le décor antique. Textes grecs et latines au miroir des realia, is the result of several authors’ efforts to investigate the literary sources and realia pertaining to the various meanings for decoration attested in antiquity. The opening pages of the introduction hint at the impressive results of this project, providing the reader an overview of a publication that is the result of decades of work. Briefly, the volume consists of a corpus of 1391 Latin or Greek texts, each with translation and commentary, covering a time span from the 3rd century BCE to the iconoclastic crisis in Byzantium (726 CE). The rationale for this capacious span is that the textual sources allow us to recognize a common decorative language (p. 13) that extends to the first decades of the 8th c. CE. This introduction is followed by a section on the methodology used to select the documentary basis for the creation of the volume (p. 14) and a summary of the contents of the corpus, in terms of more or less known sources providing information on iconography, immediate reception or afterlife, technical aspects and the personalities of the artists and craftsmen. The collection of this information is intended to provide an overview of the texts and enable a comparison with the archaeological evidence as realia (pp. 14-15).
The end of the introduction to the corpus is devoted to la mise en œuvre de DDA, focusing on the methodology implemented for the selection of texts and the translation (some texts are first translated here), commentary and presentation of materials. It brings together a summary of the methodological choices that were made in the selection of texts in the corpus and highlights the difficulties encountered in dealing with an often very generic lexicon (e.g. the polysemic value of the Greek verb γράφω, grapho). In addition, the search for comparison (or dialogue) with the archaeological evidence and the difficulty of interpreting the sources’ technical lexicon posed further challenges in the development of this collection. With regard to the selection of sources and lexical research it would have been useful to have more information about methodologies (as described, e.g., in Blanc and Eristov 2012) and more examples of the editors’ rationale behind the selection of words investigated and sources used).
The entries in the main corpus (pp. 35-1247), numbered using an abbreviation of the author/work, follow a chronological order, starting with Heraclides Criticus (Heraclid-, c. 275-c. 200 BCE) and ending with the Anthologia Latina (AnthLat-). This is followed by a separate short dossier on legal sources. The volume closes with indexes of words related to decor: first those in Greek and then those in Latin. The volume is furnished with analytical indexes of proper names (geographic, personal); locations (public spaces; inhabited areas); types of decoration (painting, stucco, mosaic and cladding of walkable surfaces, wall coverings, ébénisterie, furniture); techniques and practices (techniques, materials, tools, colors, inspirations, methods of composition, implementation, entretien).
Further indexes cover words related to iconography (proper names, e.g. of deities; anonymous figures; animals; other motifs; scenes and subjects; geographical locations, natural spaces and elements, texts); words relating to craftsmen and trades (talents and personalities; artistic skills; specialties; status of craftsmen; teaching and contacts between craftsmen; places of work; display methods; organization of trades; relations with the client); functions (religious, socio-political, expression of status, funerary); criteria of judgement (aesthetic; moral and philosophical, impact, commercial aspects); regulations and jurisdiction (prohibition, condemnation, various rights); fortunes of works (displacement, relationship between copies and originals, fashion phenomena, renaming, survival). An index locorum includes classical and biblical references.
The glossary is a fundamental addition, although affected by the choice to not adhere to the example of Ginouvès and Martin 1985 (cited in the methodological introduction) to have keywords or technical terms translated in various modern languages (English, Italian, German, Spanish), so as to make consultation easier. Finally, bibliographies of sources and general works complete the volume.
It is not easy, given the breadth of this volume, to offer a precise review of the entries and commentaries. I will offer below some points for reflection and consideration arising from consultation and study of the documentation collected in the corpus. After a brief biography of the author and description of the work, each entry starts from the text of the ancient source, in Greek or Latin, followed by a translation that may be drawn from cited publications, or partly modified or produced especially by the editors of this collection. In some cases, e.g. Vitr-17 (Vitruvius, De Architectura 7, 3, 3-4, pp. 107-109) and Plin-91 (Plinius, Naturalis Historia 35, 112, pp. 252-253), emendations to the ancient text are also indicated. This section is followed by a list of keywords, which are also highlighted in the text itself with an asterisk. Particularly useful and noteworthy is the translation of, and commentary on, passages concerning techniques, materials and colors, e.g. Plin-27 (the famous passage of Naturalis Historia 35, 30, pp. 196-199), which provides the scholar with a useful bibliography and information on the topic with numerous comparisons, but also Poll-4 (Pollux, Onomasticon 7, 126-129, pp. 433-443, a-p), Paus-40 (from the introduction to passage C6f, Pausanias, Greciae Descriptio, 10, 23-31, pp. 478-509), Paneg-1 (Panegyrici Latini 5 (9), 20, 2, pp. 691-693) and Lib-10 (Libanios, Progymnasmata 12, 2, pp. 743-746). I would also single out the commentaries on the Thdt-1 passages (Theodoretus Cyrrhensis, Graecarum affectionum curatio 3, 80-81, pp. 950-952) and the commentary and contextualization of the descriptions in all entries for JoGaz (Joannes Gazaeus, pp. 1012-1056).
In general, the analysis is not restricted to specialized vocabulary, but also highlights particular idioms or formulae (e.g. Pl-3, Plautus, Mercator vv. 313-315, pp. 41-42: videre pictum amatorem) or topical and recurring images (e.g. Pl-5, Plautus, Mostellaria vv. 849-856, pp. 43-44 and Petr-1, Petronius, Satyrica 29, 1, p. 306: cave canem). Internal cross-references are especially helpful for navigating the broad chronological, geographical and artistic horizon of concepts, usages and vocabulary. The commentaries are furnished with a bibliography for comparison and further study of the works of art and personalities cited in the passages; this welcome feature is particularly valuable, for example, in Cic-15 (Cicero, Actio secunda in Verrem 4, 135, pp. 77-78), DS-3 (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica 18, 26, 6-27, pp. 90-91); Plin-46 (Naturalis Historia 35, 62-66, pp. 213-215) and Jos-1 (Flavius Josephus, Bellum Iudaicum 5, 190-192, pp. 335-336). In some cases, mention of Giovanni Becatti’s book on art and taste in Latin writers (1951) would have enhanced the appreciation of the cultural context of the source.
Special attention is devoted to the comparison of literary, encyclopedic and historical sources with archaeological evidence. The discussion of colors and lithotypes (on the latter, see e.g. Stat-4, Statius, Silvae 1, 5, vv. 34-43, pp. 351-352) is of considerable interest, and aided by bibliographical references for further study. For some techniques and materials further information could have been provided by the inclusion of epigraphic evidence, which often contains references to building techniques and to craftsmen, and may be useful for the comparison of preserved materials (a few sources about artisans and craftmanship are discussed in Calabi Limentani 1958; on legal sources about artisans as artifices artium see also Dareggi 2005). Inscriptions have not been included in this collection of sources, nor are they cited by way of comparison. In order to understand their documentary significance, one should consult the TLL entries for some of the materials and techniques mentioned (e.g. albarius, crusta, marmoro and related nouns and adjectives, such as marmoratus, marmoreus, marmor).
In conclusion, this corpus is essential for further study of the various types of decoration, techniques and materials used in the ancient world. The precise and formidable work of the editors, collaborators and contributors provides scholars not only with a collection of annotated sources, but also with the possibility of using internal cross-references, lexical links and keywords to create a dialogue between the sources and further insights. This dialogue (or confrontation) between literary, historical, and archaeological evidence offers new possibilities for study and in-depth examination. The extremely well-organized, minimalist but at the same time elegant and functional editorial presentation allows for an accessible and fruitful consultation of this enormous collection.
This volume certainly represents not only a step forward in the study of adornment in the ancient world, but more importantly, the basis for future research in diverse areas. The editors deserve credit for this achievement.
Works Cited
Becatti, G. (1951). Arte e gusto negli scrittori latini, Roma.
Blanc N., Eristov H. (2012). Textes grecs et latins au miroir des realia. : Un nouveau corpus de textes grecs et latins relatifs au décor, REL, 90, pp. 83-108.
Calabi Limentani, I. (1958). Studi sulla società romana. Il lavoro artistico, Varese.
Dareggi, G. (2005). Gli interventi legislativi in materia di artifices artium nel quadro della cultura artistica del IV secolo d.C., in Atti dell’Accademia Costantiniana. Convegno Internazionale (in onore di Carlo Castello, Perugia-Spello, 8-10 ottobre 2001), Testi giuridici e letterari per la storia del diritto tardoantico, Napoli 2005, pp. 337-350.
Ginouvès R., Martin R. (1985). Dictionnaire méthodique de l’architecture grecque et romaine. Tome I. Matériaux, techniques de construction, techniques et formes du décor, Roma.