DOI: 10.26650/anar.35.1849849 ISSN: 2667-629X

Toga-clad Male Figure from Antiochia ad Orontem (Antakya)

Durmuş Ersun, Yavuz Yeğin, Ali Çelikay
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This study examines a fragmentary marble statue of a toga-clad male figure discovered at Antiochia ad Orontem within the framework of Roman Imperial honorific statuary. Through formal and stylistic analysis, typological comparison, and material evaluation, the sculpture is reassessed chronologically and stylistically. Particular attention is given to the articulation of the drapery, including the volumetric sinus, the rounded and suspended umbo over the balteus, and the clearly defined lacinia. These features correspond closely with Trajanic-Hadrianic and Early Antonine sculptural conventions rather than earlier Julio-Claudian typologies. Comparative parallels with examples from Sandıklı, Bursa (Mihalıççık), Nysa ad Maeandrum, Ephesus, Leptis Magna, and the Turgut Tokuş Collection further support a date within the first half of the 2nd century AD. The presence of tabellae fittings and the roughened rear surface indicate niche placement within a public architectural context, suggesting an official honorific function. Preliminary observations of the fine-grained, veinless marble propose a possible Proconnesian origin, implying integration into imperial production networks. The statue may therefore be understood as reflecting the consolidation of Antonine drapery aesthetics and the visual language of civic authority in the Eastern Mediterranean.

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