AIUK47 no. 2 Fragment of a Poet's or Sculptor's Signature

Fragment of a Poet's or Sculptor's Signature

AIUK 4.7 (BM, Miscellaneous) no. 2 Date: ca. 1st cent. BC – 1st cent. AD

[- - -]δόνιος ἐποίει. vac. vacat

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Translated text

References:

AIUK 4.7 (BM, Miscellaneous) no. 2 (Translated text) (AIO)

IG II² 3784 (PHI)

GIBM I 71

Translation by: Peter Liddel, Polly Low

AIO Images:

Monument type: Left corner of a block

Inscription type: Signature

Elgin collection (?) - Findspot: Unknown (BM 2013,5017.1)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Nothing is known of the details of the acquisition of this fragment, but it is thought to have derived originally from the Elgin collection.

The inscription records the name of a sculptor or poet. Because the base on which it is inscribed would have supported a statue or dedication, the former is more likely (but the latter cannot be completely ruled out). The name of the artist cannot be restored: several attested names would fit into the available space; it is also possible that the extant letters are the end of an ethnic rather than a personal name. The proposed date is based on letter forms, and on the use of the imperfect rather than the perfect form of the verb of "making". Other examples of sculptors' signatures include one that appears on a choregic monument from Thorikos (IG I³ 1027bis) and another on a columnar grave marker signed by the sculptor Aristion of Paros(?) (AIUK 4.6 (British Museum. Funerary) no. 72). For more detailed discussion of this inscription see AIUK 4.7 (BM, Miscellaneous), no. 2.

Added: 23 Jun 2026
Updated: 23 Jun 2026
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ID: AIO_3697