Art and Markets in the Greco-Roman World

Bibliographic Data

ID5753193
AuthorsFederico Etro (0000-0002-7184-8696, University of Florence, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume84
Issue2
Pages432-478
Publication date2024-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Economic History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0507 • E-ISSN: 1471-6372
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s002205072400010x
OpenAlexW4393050521
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited23

We study art markets in the Greco-Roman world to explore the origins of artistic innovations in classical Greece and the mass production of imitative works in the Roman Empire. Economic factors may have played a role, on one side fostering product innovations when a few rival Greek city-states competed, outbidding each other to obtain higher-quality artworks, and on the other side fostering process innovations when a large integrated market promoted art trade across the Mediterranean Sea. The evidence on art prices is consistent with this. Literary evidence on classical Greek painting from V-III centuries BC (largely from Pliny the Elder) shows that the real price of masterpieces increased up to the peak of creativity reached with Apelles. Epigraphic evidence on Roman sculpture from I-III centuries AD (largely from inscriptions at the base of statues) shows that the real price of statues was stable and largely equalized across the imperial provinces

Art · Economics · Art History and Market Analysis · Classical Antiquity Studies

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