Stucco and clay in the decoration of the monumental buildings of Old Nisa

Unlike the terracotta decoration and the clay sculpture, the stucco production in Old Nisa has been only marginally studied. This is mainly due to the scarcity of figured materials available. Anyhow, recent excavations1 have unearthed some fragments of sculptures in stucco and clay, along with double-moulds in gypsum mortar that shed new light on techniques for the manufacturing of sculptures. The manufacturing process of a sculpture is similar for both materials, since the modelling of the figure occurs through the gradual application of layers of clay or stucco (or both) more and more fine and purified. Moreover, for the two materials, is attested both the simple hand modelling and the use of moulds.