art. Under the Roman Republic and Empire the specialized
artistic design of coins continued. Th e materials were gold,
silver, and bronze and other alloys. Th e art was in the cutting
of the dies from which the coins were struck. Th e images were
mainly of the emperor, his family, and other important per-
sons, as well as symbols of state and representations of myth.
Roman coins are not only miniature works of art but contain
considerable historical information.
OTHERS ARTS AND CRAFTS
Few examples of the art of woodworking have been preserved,
but from depictions in wall painting, representations in relief
carvings, and a scant few remains, we know that the craft was
used extensively in furniture making. Similarly, few products
of the art of weaving survive. Th e climate of Italy and much of
Europe has prevented the preservation of garments and other
woven materials, so we must rely on the pictorial evidence in
paintings, relief carvings, and mosaics. However, garments
preserved from parts of the Roman Empire, such as Egypt,
give us an idea of textile decoration. Materials used were cot-
ton, linen, and wool. Design devices included colorful bor-
ders and appliqués, so the impression we have from sculpture
of Roman attire as colorless is not completely accurate. Color-
ful cottons from India and silks imported from China have
been found in the oasis caravan city of Palmyra in the Syrian
desert, further attesting to a general interest in richly deco-
rated dress during the time of the Roman Empire.
Roman craft smen excelled at the art of jewelry making.
In part this was one more tradition inherited from the Etrus-
cans. Over the centuries the Etruscans had evolved a highly
developed jewelry industry exhibiting great artistry and
technical skill. Th ey were especially expert in working gold.
Among other techniques they developed was granulation, a
method of applying tiny balls of gold in patterns on a plain
surface. Roman jewelry makers continued to use methods
invented by the Etruscans and took them to an even higher
degree of accomplishment. In addition to working in gold
and silver, they were skillful at engraving stones to be set into
rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. Where today these
gemstones would probably be diamonds, rubies, and emer-
alds, the ancient jewelers used semiprecious stones such as
carnelian, agate, and quartz. Th e designs might include im-
ages of the gods and goddesses, scenes from mythology, and
the name or motto of the owner. Th e art of the cameo in glass
or multicolored stone was also highly developed. Elaborate
profi le portraits were oft en done in this technique, which re-
quired great skill in design and execution.
Not all jewelry or objects of personal adornment were
made of precious metals. One of the most characteristic ob-
jects used by Roman men and women alike was the fi bula, a
broach that ser ved to fasten a cloak or other garment. Th e fi b-
ula was like a large safety pin with spring action and a clasp,
but it was oft en decorated with designs so that it became an
object of art in its own right.
Some of the great achievements of Roman artists and
craft smen were in the art of glassmaking. Glass was not a new
invention—it had been produced in some parts of the ancient
world for centuries—but the methods of making blown glass
did not become well known until the fi rst century b.c.e. Ro-
man craft smen excelled in the manufacture of all sorts of
vessels and containers in glass—jars, bottles, plates, bowls,
inkwells, and even such specialized objects as baby feeders.
Th e forms employed ranged from simple undecorated shapes
to elaborate and fanciful showpieces. Glass was mainly free-
blown but also blown in molds to give it designed shapes and
surface decoration. Cameo glass was produced by coating
one color of the material with another, then grinding away
parts of the surface to make a design. Some examples of com-
plicated glassmaking that survive are evidence of a highly de-
veloped working tradition in a material that challenged the
imagination of the artisans to great heights of creativity.
Th e arts of Rome refl ected the accomplishments and as-
pirations of the Roman people. Th e artistic traditions evolved
with the development of the Roman state from its beginnings
in the Republic to the height of Empire and its eventual de-
cline. Th e values of republican Rome are best illustrated by
the severe portraits of distinguished personalities of the time.
Th e attitudes of the ruling elite during the greater expansion
under the Empire are shown by the return to forms that imi-
tate Greek styles and by the fl ourishing decorative arts. With
the division of the Empire in the fourth century and the ad-
vent of Christianity, the arts, particularly sculpture, under-
went changes that refl ect the social situations of the time.
Th e Arch of Constantine (312–15 c.e.) illustrates these
changes, being decorated with reliefs salvaged from previous
reigns as well as work from the time of Constantine himself.
Th e reused pieces are in the traditional styles refl ecting the
infl uences of the Greeks and Etruscans. Th e new composi-
tions are in a style that can be characterized only as more
schematic and less realistic. Th ey depict the emperor and his
court, but in graphic contrast to earlier representations such
as that of Augustus and his entourage on the Ara Pacis, the
Arch of Constantine shows the ruler and courtiers in stiff
frontal views. Th e art of Rome had once again adjusted to the
needs of its time. Th e interest expressed was not in realistic or
ideal representation but in information conveyed in the most
direct and diagrammatic fashion possible.THE AMERICAS
BY ARDEN DECKER
ANCIENT NORTH AMERICA
Th e most signifi cant cultural activity of ancient North
America took place in a region now known as the Ameri-
can Woodlands, which extends from the Hudson Bay to
the Gulf of Mexico and from the eastern Great Plains to the
Atlantic coast. While evidence suggests that the creation
of utilitarian objects dates back to the Paleo-Indian Period118 art: The Americas