Per una definizione dello stile tarantino di età arcaica: la piccola plastica fittile

The paper examines some coroplastic material of the Early Archaic and Archaic period from Taranto in order to place it within a stylistic context and identify the presence of various influences. In the single types that have been analysed, elements from Crete, Corinth, Samos and Laconia can be variously identified. It is especially from Sparta that the coroplasts active at Taras between the second and the third quarter of the 6th century took inspiration, notably from its toreutic production. On the other hand, there are no direct comparisons with terracotta plastic art of the motherland, which was limited to a local circulation insofar as it was linked to its specific religious context. Other issues to be discussed in more detail with the application of archaeometric analysis, besides more extensive publication of materials, are the origin of the group of female figures made with a mixed technique, traditionally ascribed to the Achaean area, and the organization of workshops in this period.