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Statue Pedestal #
Table 17 (continued).
Width
Body
(m)
Width
Body
(R. ft)
Length
Body
(m)
Length
Body
(R. ft)
STP 1 0.670 2 ¼ 0.630 2 ¼
STP 2 0.655 2 ¼ 0.625 2
STP 3 0.700 2 ¼ 0.580 2
STP 4 0.630 2 ¼ 0.650 2 ¼
STP 5 0.58 2 0.59 2
STP 6 0.670 2 ¼ 0.630 2 ¼
There can be little doubt that these items were produced in the same workshop, by
the same craftsmen, using the same sculptural techniques. The overall dimensions do not
vary much from one item to another and the surface is always roughly-finished with a
pointed chisel (see the details of STP 2 in the Catalog). Another feature of all five items
is the horizontal, smooth, and slightly projecting band clearly visible on STP 2, always
present at one extremity, and never at the other.
Examples from the town of Baiae in the Bay of Naples, such as the 11 pedestals
that supported statues of the emperors, gods, and augustales or priests of the Imperial cult
(Fig. 42), provide useful parallels for the material from Punta Scifo A. Inscriptions carved
on these pedestals suggest that some date to the time of Nerva and Trajan (A.D. 96-117),
and others to the age of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (A.D. 161-169). 174
The base of the pedestal in Fig. 42a ends in a smooth band from which project a
series of mouldings. The top of the band is decorated with a cornice that protrudes gently
outward. This same decoration is seen on the artifacts from Baiae, suggesting that the
174 Miniero 2003, 53.
124