OPERE INCOMPIUTE E DECORAZIONI LISCE NELL’ARCHITETTURA TOLEMAICA*

Abstract

The art of Ptolemaic Egypt has often been considered as “impressionistic”, “sketchy” and not finished to
the final detail. When encountering unfinished architectural elements, scholars have often been too quick to
identify them as a stylistic and typical Alexandrian choice. To avoid misinterpretations, a sound methodology
is needed. Only when there are clear indications that the “unfinished” elements were used in a finished
building can we speak of an intentional style. To illustrate this, two accidentally unfinished buildings are discussed
in more detail: The Qasr al-Abd in Jordan and the Roman colonnades of Philae. In order to contrast
this with an intentional style, attention is drawn to the blocked-out Nabatean capitals. Their use is dictated
by the properties of the local stone as well as by a deliberate choice. The style, employed for example in colonnades
within the temple complexes at Philae, Douch, Akoris, and Maharraqa, can be regarded as a typical
vernacular architecture of the late Ptolemaic and Roman East.