Note al trasporto e alla messa in opera di statue in marmo nel mondo romano: giunti, puntelli e tecnologie per la stabilità

Scholars have seldom and only cursorily engaged in the task of accounting for the function of non-figural supports (struts) in Hellenistic and Roman sculpture, wavering between two main explanations. The first envisions struts as tools that enabled Roman workshops to transform lighter bronze prototypes into heavier marble replicas. The second interprets struts as devices to secure appendages for transport. In consequence, struts testify to a sculpture’s travel from workshop to the site of display. In this chapter, I review the latter argument as part of a broader discussion on the technologies for the carving, transportation, and set-up of marble statues, in light of selected case studies (the sculptural display of the grotto at Sperlonga, and the marbles from the Antikythera shipwreck).