Last days for Roman portraits

The "Roman Portraits from Aphrodisias" exhibition put together by curator Dr. R.R.R. Smith, consists of 52 marble portrait sculptures. Fifty-one of these have been excavated from Aphrodisias and brought from the Aphrodisias Museum to Istanbul especially for this exhibition. The additional sculpture has been transported from the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. Detailed Turkish and English panels about the figures and the city on display accompany the sculptures.

The ancient city of Aphrodisias is one of the most important archaeological sites of the late Hellenistic and Roman period in Turkey. The city is famous for its sanctuary of Aphrodite, the city's patron goddess, and for its marble sculptors who extensively exploited a marble quarry located close to the city in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Oxford University’s classical archeologist and exhibition curator Dr. R.R.R Smith said, " The sculptures on display at the exhibition have been seen by very few people and this was the key motivation for bringing them to the heart of Istanbul."

The exhibition is on until Jan. 25.