Pavonazzo marble

Portrait of woman in Pavonazzo marble, Roman artwork – Capitoline Museums in Rome.
Statue in "pavonazzetto" (Docimaean) marble (lower part) in the court of the Conservatori Palace in the Capitoline Museums. This sculpture was on the Arch of Constantine; it was removed in the 18th century because of damage and replaced by a copy in white marble. Previously, it was in the Forum of Trajan.

Pavonazzo marble, also known as Pavonazzetto, Docimaean marble or Synnadic marble,[1] is a whitish marble originally from Docimium, or modern İscehisar, Turkey.[2][3]

Etymology

The name derives from the Italian word for peacock (pavone).

History

Ancient world

Pantheon, Rome. White Docimian marble is used on the floor and some of the columns such as the two protruding columns of the main apse. The white Docimian color on the floor is very dominant.

Pavonazzetto was not widely or extensively used before the Roman period; there is no evidence of it in circulation before the last two decades BC.[4] The marble has been used in Rome since the Augustan age, when large-scale quarrying began at Docimium, and columns of it were used in the House of Augustus, as well as in the Temple of Mars Ultor, which also had pavonazzo floor tiles in the cella. Pavonazzetto statues of kneeling Phrygian barbarians existed in the Basilica Aemilia and Horti Sallustiani. Giant statue groups carved from Docimaean marble were discovered at Tiberius's Villa in Sperlonga.

Docimian Pavonazzetto was extensively used in major building projects both within Rome and the rest of the empire. Pavonazzetto was used on the most eye catching places such as, columns, wall and floor veneer and wall reliefs. Other marbles from all corners of the empire were used in combination; whenever Pavonazzetto was used as floor cover, it was usually in combination with other decorative marbles, however, the Pavonazzetto being a primarily white marble, it gave buildings a freshening white color.

Docimian marble was also preferred for sarcophagi sculpting, many emperors preferring this marble for its high value and majestic looks. As a result, some of the greatest masterpieces were made from this material, including the sarcophagi of Eudocia, Heraclius and many more.[5]

Later Use

Docimaean Pavonazzo was later used for the Memoria Petri, the tomb of Saint Peter, in the influential Baroque Revival style historic buildings the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, in New York City, and Belfast City Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

List of buildings with Pavonazzo marble

Buildings in Rome

A computer-generated image of the Forum of Trajan in Rome. White Docimian marble is used in combination with yellow marble.

Buildings outside of Rome

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pavonazzo marble sculptures.
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