Diphilus (Koroplast)
Diphilos ( Greek Δίφιλος ) was a Greek coroplast and head of a workshop who lived at the end of the 1st century BC. And at the beginning of the 1st century AD in Myrina in Asia Minor.
Diphilus is known of almost seventy signatures on clay statuettes that were found in the necropolis of Myrina. Among the statuettes there are several depictions of the goddesses Aphrodite and Artemis and the god Dionysus as well as a depiction of Hygieia , the naked Hermes , Apollon Kitharoidos and Heracles, as well as several depictions of erotic , flying, so-called Syrian erotes and imitations of well-known figures such as Aphrodite from Knidos or the Aphrodite Genetrix. There are also a number of statuettes that show scenes from everyday life: draped women, ephebes dressed in togas with quivers or scrolls, naked ephebes or children playing with animals. Many of the figures are noticeably slim, have narrow shoulders and a pronounced hip area. The female figures have only weak breasts, for which the anatomy of the erotes and ephebes seems more feminine.
The exact dating of the statuettes is not possible due to the lack of excavation findings. However, through stylistic studies, the time of origin can be traced back to the second half of the 1st century BC. To the second half of the 1st century, whereby the period is longer than the possible creative time of an individual artist. Diphilus was therefore the master of a workshop that continued to use his name as a brand name. The majority of coroplastics were made from two matrices made of plaster of paris or sometimes clay that were joined together to form a shape. This manufacturing technique was retained throughout the workshop's existence. With ten exceptions, the signature of Diphilos can be found on the back of the base , with the others it is on the back of the figures.
In the Pergamon Museum there is a bronze stamp with the signature of Diphilus, whether this is the stamp of the coroplast or another person with the same name is unclear.
literature
- Dominique Kassab: Statuettes en terre cuite de Myrina. Corpus des signatures, monogrammes, lettres et signes . Paris 1988, No. 32 / 5,1 / 12 ff. (Bibliothèque de l'Institut français d'études anatoliennes d'Istanbul, 29).
- Dominique Kassab Tezgör: Diphilos (III) . In: Rainer Vollkommer (Hrsg.): Künstlerlexikon der Antike . Over 3800 artists from three millennia. Nikol, Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-937872-53-7 , p. 184.
- Carl Robert : Diphilos 21 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume V, 1, Stuttgart 1903, Col. 1156.
Individual evidence
- ^ Louvre , inventory number S 3637
- ^ Louvre, inventory number Myr 1034
- ^ Louvre, inventory number Myr 671
- ^ Louvre, inventory number Myr 61
- ^ Louvre, inventory number Myr 19
- ^ Louvre, inventory number Myr 677
- ^ Louvre, inventory number Myr 307
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Diphilus |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Δίφιλος (Greek) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek Koroplast |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1st century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1st century |