Unknown
Roman

Peplophoros, 1st c. BCE or 1st c. CE Roman copy of a peplophoros of the early 5th c. BCE (ca 470-460 BCE)
marble
40 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 11 1/4 in.

SBMA, Gift of Wright S. Ludington
1978.4.2.

"You may forget, but let me tell you this: Someone in some future time will think of us.” - Sappho, Greek female poet, 570 B.C.E.

"The beauty of style, harmony, grace, and good rhythm depends on simplicity." - Plato, 428-348 B.C.E.

RESEARCH PAPER

In the echoes of ancient wisdom, these words resonate across the millennia, hinting that our existence, even in the distant past, is not lost but rather waiting to be uncovered. This exploration takes us back two millennia into the realm of a Roman/ Greek Goddess adorned here in a peplos, challenging the persistent notion of a 'marble-white antiquity.' Against a backdrop of vibrant ancient times characterized by a rich array of colors, we unravel the mysteries of sculpture, realism, and the enduring allure of the classical world.

The vulnerability of sculptures: Sculptures replicated in the Greek and Roman tradition often stand-alone, incorporating ample open spaces, rendering their arms and heads susceptible to damage. The passage of time has resulted in the loss of many heads, as wear and tear take their toll. However, this vulnerability extends beyond natural deterioration, implicating factors such as looting and regime changes.

The Romans deeply admired Greek art, collecting marble replicas as symbols of wealth, social standing, and intellectual prowess in the Roman world. This admiration was particularly evident in the elegant simplicity of sculptures like the marble Santa Barbara Peplophoros, a Roman copy in the Severe style, peaking in the fifth century BCE.

The Severe style and its evolution: The shift from the Archaic to the early Classical period is evident in the emergence of the "Severe" style of sculpture. Artists in this period focused on naturalism, departing from the stylized forms of the Archaic era. Subjects began to exhibit a notable shift towards conveying emotional expression and adopting poses suggesting movement. Sculptures adorned in clothing embraced a more straightforward drapery style, harking back to the unembellished “Doric” garment. This garment would have been made of linen or thick wool.

Examining the intricacies of her clothing, we observe meticulous heavy pleats giving way to substantial folds, introducing a sense of severity to the static composition and the straight descent of the peplos robe. The peplos, a sizable rectangular fabric, were vertically folded and suspended from the shoulders with a broad overfold, secured around the waist beneath the overfold by a belt.

Realism in the sculpture: The refinement of bodily forms became more pronounced as artists dedicated attention to anatomical details. Adopting the contrapposto pose, where one leg is positioned back, supporting the body while the other remains free, introduced realism to the sculptures. In the case of the Santa Barbara sculpture, her weight predominantly rests on the left leg, with the imperceptibly bent right leg slightly advanced and the sandaled foot protruding from beneath the hem of her peplos.

The Severe style would have featured realistic anatomical features, serious expressions, pouty lips, and thick eyelids with precious stones for eyes. The overall form of this sculpture is compact and symmetrical, designed to be viewed "in the round," allowing for observation from various angles rather than being confined to a frontal perspective. This approach imparts the viewer a sense of balance, sobriety, and calmness, departing from the limitations of earlier periods.

Color in ancient sculptures: When individuals envision the bygone Greek and Roman eras, they often picture a landscape dominated by pure white marble. However, numerous ancient Greek and Roman sculptures were initially adorned with vibrant colors. Advanced digital imaging techniques and scientific tools are now employed to scrutinize sculptures at microscopic levels, unveiling a rich array of surviving paint in diverse colors, intricate designs, and patterns.

The Greeks and Romans would have encountered Michelangelo's David in an unfinished state during the Renaissance. This was mainly due to the limitations of the time, as color perception was challenging with the naked eye. Oxidation and dirt further obscured the painted layers on the marble, and these pigments would have been the initial components to deteriorate over time.

The prevailing trend of using plaster casts, prevalent since the 16th century, played a pivotal role in accentuating the emphasis on whiteness in sculptures. Since the 18th century, when an unearthed sculpture was discovered, it was promptly transported to the restorer's studio, where it underwent a process of color removal to unveil its pristine white appearance. Whiteness symbolized purity and perfection, even though ancient sculptures are thousands of years old and have undergone considerable natural wear and exposure to the elements.

Unveiling the Goddess in Color: How might the appearance of this unidentified Goddess in a peplos have manifested two millennia ago? The Goddess's influence was conveyed through the artful stylization of her hair and the use of vivid hues in her attire, makeup, and jewelry. In contrast to their nude male counterparts, who derived power from their sacred or ideal physique, the authority of the female figure was encapsulated in her attire and embellishments. Her conspicuous yet modest demeanor, a declaration of "look at me," potentially manifested in vibrant tones like red cinnabar, yellow ocher, and azurite/malachite for green-blue pigments.

This compact-standing Santa Barbara Peplophoros endures as an intriguing enigma, prompting a sense of marvel and wonder.

Prepared for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Docent Council by Allou Guthmiller, 2024.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Britannica, “The Classical period, early classic (c. 500-450 BCE)”
https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-sculpture/The-Classical- period#ref401159.

World History, “Ancient Greek Clothing”
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/20/ancient-greek-clothing/

Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World, “Archaeologies of the Greek Past, Severe Style”
https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/greekpast/ 4731.html

Princeton University Art Museum, ”Marble Peplophoros,”
https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/story/new-acquisition-marble-peplophoros

Sunday Morning, August 10, 2021, CBS News “Ancient sculptures reveal their true colors”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ancient-greek-roman-sculptures-metropolitan- museum-art/

Kings College London, “11 October 2023; Scientific analysis reveals the true colours of the Parthenon Sculptures.”
https://www.kcl.ac.uk

University of Cambridge, “Peplos Kore”
https://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/museum/collections/peplos-kore

Liebieghaus Skulpturen Sammlung, “Gods In Color, Polychromy In Antiquity”
https://buntegoetter.liebieghaus.de

COMMENTS

This three-quarter life-size standing figure of a woman wears the thick woolen Doric peplos (garment) with apoptygma (overfolds at the waist) covering the upper torso and falling in heavy folds on each side. In addition, the peplos is belted with full overfold (kolpos) along the waist. The lack of a tenon hole in the socket to secure and stabilize a head suggests that the head and body were carved together out of the same piece of marble; the hollowing out was thus done at some time after the head was broken off.

The Santa Barbara Peplophoros - or maiden "bearing" (wearing) a peplos - stands with her weight chiefly on the left leg; the right leg, imperceptibly bent, is slightly advanced, with the sandaled foot protruding from beneath the hem of the peplos. Attention should be called to the rather disproportionate length of the legs, particularly from the knees to the feet. The disproportion is especially noticeable when the statue is viewed from its right side, where the foot protrudes. The only acknowledgement of the body beneath the heavy drapery is to be found at the breasts, the lower thigh and knee of the right leg, and the upper buttocks.

Peplophoroi, of which the Santa Barbara Peplophoros is a good example, are a statue type that was popular during the early decades of the fifth century B.C., when the Severe Style was at its peak. The ultimate prototype may well be such figures as the Stereope and Hippodamia from the east pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia and the representations of the goddess Athena on several metopes.

- Mario A. DelChiaro, Classical Art Sculpture, SBMA Catalog, 1984, pp. 18-19


SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS

Known as a peplos, the garment that this figure wears and how it has been carved helps us give a date to the object. Though she would have been created in the Roman period, the rendering of the folds which fall straight to the feet indicate that this is a copy of an earlier Greek sculpture from around 470 BC. Close analysis of the visible breaks has shown that her arms were probably originally held down and slightly extended, with the right possibly held slightly higher than the left. Though the drapery does not reveal her legs as is the case with the Apollo Kitharista nearby, her right foot is positioned forward, inviting us to imagine that her right leg is slightly bent. Also not immediately perceptible to the eye is the fact that her legs are disproportionately long, echoing earlier versions of these types of sculptures which were more block-like and less naturalistic.

- Ludington Court Reopening, 2021