Dyarchs in color

Abstract

Since the first widespread indications that extensive remains of a ca. 50 m length of monumental painted marble frieze from a 3rd-c. state monument had come to light in the Çukurbaǧ neighborhood of Izmit, Turkey (ancient Nicomedia), the Late Antique and Roman art communities have eagerly awaited the publication of the present volume. Written by the director of the TÜBİTAK Çukurbaǧ Archaeological Project, the book is the first full publication of the impressive frieze, which is the only extant imperial monument to preserve extensive remains of applied polychromy. As the foundational synthesizing publication for a monument that will undoubtedly become one of the touchstones in discussions of Roman art, the book’s plentiful high-quality color photographs and expert architectural and iconographic contextualization do not disappoint. But beyond its utility as a reference volume, it also provides an important exemplar for how other fragmentary monuments with similarly visually rich sculptural content could be productively reconsidered with the integration of evidence in multiple media and close attention to sculptural elements beyond iconography.