Colour and marble in early imperial Rome

Abstract

The proliferation of white and coloured marbles in Rome and the provinces has received detailed attention from archaeologists, and the symbolism underlying the use and distribution of these marbles has been discussed at length by art historians. In addition, there are now several important catalogues of ancient Roman marbles. Their stones are presented attractively in full glory, using state-of-the-art printing technology, page after page of dazzling colour. In case the full extent of the polychromy is lost on the reader, descriptions and labels (particulary those coined in nineteenth-century Italy) reinforce this vivid connection between stone and colour - ‘giallo antico’, ‘rosso antico’, ‘porfido’, ‘scisto verde’, ‘nero antico’, ‘marmo bianco’ , ‘greyish-blues’, ‘black limestone’, ‘dazzling white’, ‘rot’, ‘gelb’, ‘violett’. It is a very simple exercise for us to align colour and stone.