Image of the Month, January 2012

The end of a garland sarcophagus from Aphrodisias in Turkey showing, on the right, the roughed-out state through which the whole design passed before being finished to the condition visible on the left.  The marks of the point chisel can be seen across the whole background surface, which was never smoothed down even on the finished section. The smooth surface on the roughed-out garland to the right was probably achieved using the saw, suggesting that the whole end of the block was initially sawn before any carving work was undertaken. The detailed finishing on the garland to the left was achieved using a combination of flat chisel, roundel, and drill.

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