Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture: Figural Motifs In Western Anatolia And The Aegean Islands (Wisconsin Studies in Classics) (Hardcover)

~ Pamela Webb (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Reading the book was pure pleasure. Webb brings together an extraordinary amount of material, ranging from the extremely familiar to the very obscure, and puts it in overall perspective both as sculpture and as architectural elements. I am certain that specialists in both fields will find it useful and enlightening, and also that it will be accessible and enjoyable for non-specialists and readers with little background in Greek art-including undergraduates."-Steven Lattimore, University of California, Los Angeles -- Steven Lattimore, University of California, Los Angeles

"Webb's grasp of the scholarship and coverage of the monuments seem all but total, and her careful and judicious critiques of previous opinion are most valuable."-Andrew F. Stewart, University of California, Berkeley -- Andrew F. Stewart, University of California, Berkeley

Product Description

Sculpted figural motifs were an important component of many buildings in the Hellenistic world, and their frequent relegation to subsidiary status has, until now, left our knowledge of both Hellenistic architecture and sculpture incomplete. In Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture, Pamela A. Webb examines the full range of figural embellishmentfrom simple to complex, on large monuments as well as on more obscure ones, and in the major population centers as well as the smaller cities, sanctuaries, and isolated areas throughout western Anatolia and the Aegean islands. In this book, the first to focus specifically on the figural adornment of Hellenistic architecture, Webb provides extensive information about the chronology and interpretation of figural motifs adorning religious, civic, commercial, commemorative, and domestic constructions. She finds that figural sculptures adorn structures at every level from the ground to the roof, and display a wide variety of motifs on such architectural elements as columns, walls, entablatures, and pediments. More than 130 illustrations of Hellenistic monumentstemples, altars, cult buildings, heroa, theaters, bouleuteria, stoas, gymnasia, and housesand their sculptured adornment complement the authors descriptions and analyses. The book features an extensive bibliography, citing resources from the early nineteenth century to the most recent publications.

Reading the book was pure pleasure. Webb brings together an extraordinary amount of material, ranging from the extremely familiar to the very obscure, and puts it in overall perspective both as sculpture and as architectural elements. I am certain that specialists in both fields will find it useful and enlightening, and also that it will be accessible and enjoyable for non-specialists and readers with little background in Greek artincluding undergraduates.Steven Lattimore, University of California, Los Angeles

Webbs grasp of the scholarship and coverage of the monuments seem all but total, and her careful and jucicious critiques of previous opinion are most valuable.Andrew F. Stewart, University of California, Berkeley

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299149803
• ISBN-13: 978-0299149802
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,294,548 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of [Hellenistic] architectural sculpture, March 3, 1999

By A Customer

Prof. Barbara A. Barletta (University of Florida), in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 8.5 (1997) 493-495: In this succinct and lucid exposition of figural motifs in Hellenistic architecture, Pamela Webb accomplishes exactly what she sets out as her task in the introduction. Her first goal is to demonstrate how figural sculpture was used. Thus [she] establishes a classification of buildings, as religious, civic, domestic, and cultic and commemorative. She also includes here a discussion of the orders used and a short section on Hermogenes, the most famous architect of the period. In the next chapter, she locates sculpture on the individual architectural members, moving from [column] drums and pedestals to akroteria. Chapter 4 then treats motifs dividng them generally into non-narrative and narrative themes. Her second and third goals, to elucidate patterns of use over time and the meaning of figural ornamentation, are addressed in the discussions above and developed further in the conclusions. Part 2 of this book provides a documentation of the material. Full descriptions of the architectural and sculptural remains are presented in geographical arrangement from northern to southern Anatolia, the Aegean Islands, and Cyprus, and from earliest to latest within each site. It is in this section that Webb discusses the problems and controversies surrounding the monuments, particularly their reconstructions and dates. As a result of its clear organization, with thorough and up-to-date bibliography, this book represents a handy and important reference. It is well illustrated, in several cases using the author's own photographs, and includes almost all the necessary plans and reconstructions. The book certainly provides the reader with an excellent overview of architectural sculpture in the "heart of the Hellenistic world".

5.0 out of 5 stars An indispensable reference, March 3, 1999

By A Customer

Prof. E. L. Anderson (Lansing Community College), in: Choice - Current Reviews for Academic Libraries (April 1997): This indispensable reference and thorough summary of mostly French and German reports and [Webb's] interpretations and observations will thrive and be a foundation for future work. Fine index, thorough footnotes and bibliography, clear outline and arrangement of material,and articulate paragraphs.

5.0 out of 5 stars Place to start for sculpture on [Hellenistic] architecture, March 3, 1999

By A Customer

Prof. Gary Reger (Trinity College), in: New England Classical Journal 25.3 (February 1998): In Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture, Pamela Webb aims to assemble in one place all the instances of sculpture that adorned buildings on the Aegean islands or in western Asia Minor in the Hellenistic period. In this she succeeds admirably. Her 110 page "List of Sites" covers every major building at every major site. The entries are divided up by region and by site within region. For each site she provides a list of builidngs which carried, or can be argued to have carried, sculpture, giving their date, size, order, and other basic information; a brief description of the extant sculpture, including provenance and present location; and a bibliography. Her discussion of each sculptural program gives special attention to the themes and motifs behind the sculpture and reviews particular problems, to which Webb occasionally offers her own solutions. The vast majority of the sculpture she discusses is illustrated with photographs of high quality in the plates at the end of the book. Webb's book is now the place to start for anyone interested in sculpture on architecture in the Hellenistic period. Webb's discovery that the types of buildings preferred and the nature of architectural decoration changed around the end of the third century BC is, historically speaking, surely the most important result of her work. It adds another element - all the more welcome as coming from the art historical direction - to the impressive list of important changes that mark the end of the third century.