The 3Rd Century Ce 47

the 3rd century ce 47 Chapter FOUR THE 3rd CENTURY CE Towards the 3rd century ce, recarved private por- This is an extremely difficult, if not impossible, traits, both male and female, increased in number. task and it is very doubtful that the prices given A combination of harsh economic times and a by the Diocletian price edict are trustworthy. lack of skilled artisans led to old portraits becom- Since the prices probably reflected local condi- ing a marketable commodity. For this to happen, tions in Asia Minor, they may be completely however, the Roman view of the archetype must worthless as a price indicator for the West. The have changed. In earlier periods, the archetype results of Duncan-Jones’ analyses are, nonethe- had inspired respect, even awe, but from the time less, worth mentioning here. He identified 138 of the soldier emperors onwards, attitudes different prices for Roman statues and calculated towards it must have changed to facilitate the that the mean price was about 5000 sesterces, at recarving of portraits on a large scale. least for statues in Africa (Duncan-Jones, 1974: 78; Pekàry, 1985: 19). The highest recorded price for a statue is 66,666 sesterces, followed by 50,000 Economy and reuse and 33,320 sesterces, but these amounts indicate inflation. The lowest price he found is 2000 ses- There is abundant evidence that the Roman econ- terces, whereas about 77% of all statue prices omy at least by the middle of the 3rd century ce appear to lie between 8000 and 2000 sesterces. was going through a profound crisis from which Prices also seem to include the bases. Evidence it never completely recovered. The primary cause for the pricing of sculpture in Italy is more dif- was the inflation of prices, which had remained ficult to assess, as only 15 prices are preserved: relatively stable in the 2nd century but which “[...] it is reasonable to suppose that the norms increased dramatically in the 3rd century ce. The in Italy would not have been very different from price edict of Diocletian demonstrates how high those in Africa [...]. The highest of the Italian prices had risen by the beginning of Late Antiq- prices for single statues, around HS 1 million at uity. For example, the price of wheat had increased Beneventum, greatly exceeds the maximum in 25 to 50 times, compared to a century earlier, Africa [...] But the highest multiple statue outlay, and yet Lactantius recounts that Diocletian’s HS 555,000 at Patavium, is exceeded in Africa by prices were so low that the gain was minimal and a gift of statues worth HS 1 million” (Duncan- goods were taken off the market (Duncan-Jones, Jones, 1974: 126). In other words, prices for stat- 1974: 367). Inflation continued: an edict from ues appear to have been standardised throughout 335 ce shows that the price of wheat had increased the empire, even if they did not remain the same 63 times from what it had been in the time of over time. There is little information about the Diocletian, although transport costs also should cost of sculpture from the 3rd or 4th centuries ce, be considered, since these varied depending on although two listings of marble statue prices from location (Duncan-Jones, 1974: 367, 368). North Africa from after 250 ce show figures that Attempts have been made to understand the were six or ten times the average price of the 2nd degree of supply of marble in Late Antiquity by century ce (Duncan-Jones, 1974: 94, nos. 91, comparing prices with those of earlier periods. D92). This does not necessarily mean, however, © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2016 | doi 10.1163/9789004324558_006 48 chapter four that marble statuary had become more expensive more expensive: green lacedaemonius lapis, to produce in real terms compared to the previ- marble from Dokimion in Phrygia, Egyptian por- ous century, since we know little about wages in phyry, and most probably yellow Numidian the Roman period. marble. Egyptian granite was less expensive, The prices of statues depended on the supply whether it was red granite from Aswan or green of marble and access to skilled craftsmen. The marble from Mons Claudianus. Alabaster and supply of marble, in turn, depended on the eco- marble from Karystos, Prokonnesos, Lesbos, nomic situation and the circumstances that per- Thasos, Skyros, Herakleia, along with four mitted the free flow of stone through the unidentified types, are also listed as less expen- manufacturing chain from quarry to workshop. sive. The Luculleum marble has been identified This further influenced both public and private as the precious Africano marble from the island reuse. Access to craftsmen was also dependent Teos, which was used mainly for architecture. on favourable working conditions, such as a con- The price of the Luculleum was 150 denarii per tinuous supply of marble over a sufficient period cubic foot or about 4050 denarii per cubic metre. to enable artistic and technical skills to be passed At least three blocks were needed for a statue on. Along with the cost of different types of mar- made of better quality marble. Thus, in the case ble, the price of a sculpture also depended on of Luculleum marble, one had to pay in the first labour costs and the number of man hours, which instance about 12,150 denarii just for the stone. would have been considerable. Moreover, 90% If the production cost amounted to 90% of the of the amount paid for a marble statue went to price of a statue and the remaining 10% was the craftsmen (Claridge, 1988: 141, n. 7). The applied to the price of the raw material, this statue craftsmanship was thus more expensive than the would have cost altogether about 121,500 denarii, material. When metal statues were purchased, the or 486,000 sesterces (Duncan-Jones, 1974: 111, craftsman received a smaller percentage, possibly no. 349, 119). These prices can be compared with because casting and work in the smithy was faster those of wheat. In the 1st century, the mean price and less labour-intensive than the work of carv- for this commodity was 4 sesterces per modium. ing marble. In casting, the size of the monument In Diocletian’s time, it was 100 denarii, or 400 is not decisive for the amount of time needed for sesterces. This means that the price of 5,000 ses- the work. The amount of time required to carve terces for an average statue in the 2nd century ce in marble also increased with the size of the was of equivalent cost to around 1250 modii of monument: metal had fixed prices but marble (a wheat, while in 301 ce, a statue of prized Lucul- generic term for crystallised limestone from leum marble seems to have been worth more or diverse geographical areas) varied in price. Some less the same, or even less. workshops probably had a higher profile than Thus, the comparison of prices indicates that others, and single sculptors who were undoubt- prices at least for marble did not change signifi- edly more gifted and famous than others would cantly in Late Antiquity, compared to the 1st-3rd have commanded higher prices for their crea- centuries ce, an unexpected situation for a period tions. with a low supply of new marble. The ubiquitous The price of different types of marble would lack of marble by around 300 ce, evident in the also have fluctuated greatly between different reuse of old monuments everywhere, suggests that provinces. As always for prices in antiquity, it is prices were based on the available marble, which difficult to offer actual sums, but thanks to Dio- would have included large amounts of old mar- cletian’s price edict it is possible to know, for ble, i.e. spolia. This conclusion is only speculative, instance, the cost in 301 ce of a cubic foot of but future studies may throw more light on this Luculleum marble, one of the better types (True problem. & Podany, 1990: 253-254). Green Thessalian A decisive factor in the recarving of sculpture marble cost the same, whereas four types were was, of course, access to marble, which in general .

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