Dr Kosmas A. Dafas
Whilst obtaining first his Ptychio (four-year BA) in History & Archaeology and then a Master’s by Research (two-year MRes) in Classical Archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Kosmas Dafas worked as an intern at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and participated in several university excavations (Dispilio, Kastoria; Karabournaki, Thessaloniki; Dion, Pieria). He also worked as an archaeologist for the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria, thus, expanding his knowledge and experience in cultural heritage and the museum sector. He then continued his studies for a PhD at King’s College London: his thesis was entitled Greek Large-Scale Bronze Statuary Revisited: the late Archaic and Classical periods. His supervisor was Dr Karim Arafat. During his PhD studies, he was awarded the Matti Egon I Scholarship by the Greek Archaeological Committee UK (2010-2012), the A.G. Leventis Foundation Educational Grant (2009-2012), the University of London Central Research Fund Grant (2008-2009), a Research Travel Award (2009-2010) and several Small Grants for Research in the Arts & Humanities (2008-2010) by King’s College London. In 2013, he was awarded his PhD with no corrections. Between 2013 and 2015, he worked for the British Museum at the Greece & Rome Department as a volunteer. As well as giving lectures and seminars on ancient bronzes, since 2012 he has been offering his help in the identification and publication of bronze statuary fragments found under the Portable Antiquities Scheme, the British Museum. He turned his PhD thesis into a book/monograph, published in June 2019 by the Institute of Classical Studies as a BICS Supplement (138). He is currently working as an archaeologist for the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lesbos.
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It also places the development of the casting techniques in connection with the stylistic evolution in Greek free-standing sculpture. During the Classical period, artists preferred bronze to marble when creating their contrapposto figures. Indisputably, bronze gave particular freedom to artists in creating three-dimensional figures. In addition, the evolution in style encouraged the development of the uses of bronze to serve the new needs and tendencies in sculpture during the late Archaic and especially the Classical period. Through the examination of how technical matters affect style, this book presents fresh interpretations of these important monuments of Greek art and offers a new approach in the field of Greek free-standing bronze sculpture.
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This article discusses the technical features and the casting technique of the so-called Antikythera ephebe, a bronze statue found in the sea off the small island of Antikythera in the beginning of the twentieth century. While the discovery, style, date, artistic attribution and identification of the statue have been discussed previously in scholarship, a number of problematic issues still remain to be resolved, the most important of which is the casting technique. Through scrutiny of the technical features of the statue, this article sheds light on the exact casting method used for its production, thus, contributing to our better understanding of contemporary casting techniques used in Greek monumental bronze statuary during the late Classical period.
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It also places the development of the casting techniques in connection with the stylistic evolution in Greek free-standing sculpture. During the Classical period, artists preferred bronze to marble when creating their contrapposto figures. Indisputably, bronze gave particular freedom to artists in creating three-dimensional figures. In addition, the evolution in style encouraged the development of the uses of bronze to serve the new needs and tendencies in sculpture during the late Archaic and especially the Classical period. Through the examination of how technical matters affect style, this book presents fresh interpretations of these important monuments of Greek art and offers a new approach in the field of Greek free-standing bronze sculpture.
This article discusses the technical features and the casting technique of the so-called Antikythera ephebe, a bronze statue found in the sea off the small island of Antikythera in the beginning of the twentieth century. While the discovery, style, date, artistic attribution and identification of the statue have been discussed previously in scholarship, a number of problematic issues still remain to be resolved, the most important of which is the casting technique. Through scrutiny of the technical features of the statue, this article sheds light on the exact casting method used for its production, thus, contributing to our better understanding of contemporary casting techniques used in Greek monumental bronze statuary during the late Classical period.