Imperial Colors

Mark Abbe is associate professor of Art History, University of Georgia. Recent publications include "Faces in Living Color: Marble Portraits, Portrait Painting, and Individualization, c. 330-30 BC." in The Portrait Face. Understanding Realism and Verism in Greek and Roman Portraiture, (2021). Julie Van Voorhis is associate professor of Art History, Indiana University. She is the author of, most recently, Aphrodisias X: The Sculptor's Workshop (2018).

Director's Foreword: David Brenneman, Wilma E. Kelley Director, Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Preface: Juliet Graver Istrabadi, Curator of Ancient Art, IU Eskenazi Museum of Art

Chapter 1: Introduction

General background
Origins and development of the project
Acknowledgements
Chapter 2: The Eskenazi Portraits

Introduction
The portrait bust of Septimius Severus
The portrait bust of Julia Domna
Portrait typology, chronology, and self-presentation

Why busts?
Chapter 3: Bringing Marble to Life

Introduction
Marble-carving techniques and the Eskenazi Museum workshop
Polish and paint
The origin of the marble and its implications
Chapter 4: Portraits, Power, and the Visualization of Dynasty

Introduction
Alliances and images: Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus
Visualizing power: Septimius Severus as sole emperor and the consolidation of dynasty
The "African Emperor"Maternal messages in the portraits of Julia Domna
The afterlife of Julia Domna
Chapter 5: Modern Histories and Ancient Displays

Introduction
The acquisition and provenance of the Eskenazi Museum Busts
The commission and display of Imperial portrait busts in the High Imperial period
Archaeological evidence for bust display contexts in the Imperial Period /p>
Portrait busts in Late Antique houses
Appendix 1: Marble Analysis (Scott Pike, Professor of Environmental Science and Archaeology, Willamette University)

Appendix 2: Pigment Analysis (Gregory Smith, Senior Conservation Scientist, Indianapolis;Museum of Art/Newfields)

Bibliography

Index