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8 - Roman Sculptors at Work: Professional Practitioners?

from Part III - Case Studies of Professions 1: Sculpture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Ben Russell
Edited by
Edmund Stewart ,
Edward Harris  and
David Lewis
Edmund Stewart
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham
Edward Harris
Affiliation:
University of Durham
David Lewis
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
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Summary

This chapter concerns Roman sculptors and considers whether sculptors in the Roman empire fit the modern criteria for the term ‘professional’, as has been developed in the sociology of modern professions. While the lack of a regulatory system governing stone carving practitioners in the Roman world might make it hard to fit them into most modern definitions of professionals, it is argued that Roman sculptors saw their work as skilled and used their specialist knowledge to obtain social and economic rewards.

Keywords

sculptorsspecializationsocial and economic statusRoman empire
Type
Chapter
Information
Skilled Labour and Professionalism in Ancient Greece and Rome , pp. 243 - 266
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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