Mechanical Technologies and Ancient Sculpture

Abstract

Abstract This paper traces the idea of the “mechanical” as applied to ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. Use of the term is tracked from the eighteenth century onward and connected with the development of sculpturing machines during this period and their impact on the scholarly interpretation of making ancient stone sculpture. The disparagement of Roman marbles took off just as mechanical copying techniques were becoming better-known and more widely available. This paper explores the roots of this trend, showing how the notions of quality and the mechanical became entwined in a way that persisted well into the twentieth century.