Pavonazzetto marble, extracted from the quarries of Phrygia from the mid-Augustan period (late 1^st century BC – early 1^st century AD), was counted among the most prized marbles and was prevalently used for sculpture groups: prominent among these were the statues of subjugated Barbarians (also known as Phrygians), to which the use of this marble was well-suited.

Sample of pavonazzetto marble from the Podesti Collection (Pensabene P., Bruno M. 1998)

Sample of pavonazzetto marble from the Podesti Collection (Pensabene P., Bruno M. 1998)

Revetment panels – for the production of which the stepped blocks were destined – adorned important public buildings, whilst column shafts, like those of the Capitolium in Ostia, embellished Imperial architecture.

View of the quarry of Bacakale at Iscehisar
(Bruno M. 2010)

The four- and two-lobed columns (A, O), to be separated once they reached their destination, illustrate means of safe transport.

Rome. Dacians in pavonazzetto marble from the Forum of Trajan on the north attic of the Arch of Constantine (Bruno M. 2008)

Naples, Archaeological Museum. Kneeling barbarian in pavonazzetto marble from the Farnese Collection (Castellani S. 2002)