Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi insan ve toplum bilimleri dergisi, sa.62, ss.31-46, 2024 (Hakemli Dergi)
The city of Nysa in the Caria region of Western Anatolia was established during the Early Hellenistic Period. Nysa, mentioned by Strabo as a dipolis- a double city today predominantly contains Roman Period remains and sets a fine example of Roman architecture and engineering with its city planning, bridges, and monumental structures. Moreover, the city where the geographer Strabo was educated in his youth has an identity of an education and culture centre with buildings such as a library, gymnasium, and stadium. The construction and decoration of monumental structures like the theater, gerontikon-odeion, and forum/market basilica point to the visual grandeur of the city. Besides, the diversity and quality of marble used in these buildings demonstrate the refined tastes and wealth of the city's upper class and benefactors. The sculptural works unearthed in the excavations also indicate the interest of the city's elites in exquisite objects that could be considered luxurious in their everyday living spaces. One such artefact, a marble statuette head in black and white colour found in Nysa, is being introduced in this study. These kinds of small sculptures that contain both colours formed a specialized area of expertise for Aphrodisias sculptors, carved from high-quality marble obtained from the quarries of Muğla-Göktepe. Given the importance of proper design in creating sculptures from this material, it is evident that these sculptors were highly creative, and these materials must have been reserved for special projects. The statuette head from Nysa is considered an object reflecting the sophisticated tastes of the city's elites, for it belongs to a specific group of small sculptures that required great skill in crafting.
Keywords: Nysa Ad Maeandrum, Black-White Bichrome (Göktepe) Marble, Statuette, Social Context.