PROVENANCE STUDIES OF THE MARBLE OF ANCIENT SCULPTURES IN THE TRIBUNE OF THE UFFIZI GALLERY, FLORENCE* D. ATTANASIO, 1 † C. BOSCHI, 2 S. BRACCI, 3 E. CANTISANI 3 and F. PAOLUCCI 4 1 I.S.M.–C.N.R., via Salaria, km 29,300, 00016 Monterotondo Staz., Rome, Italy 2 I.G.G.–CNR, via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy 3 I.C.V.B.C.–C.N.R., via Madonna Del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy 4 Galleria degli Uffizi, via della Ninna 5, 50122 Firenze, Italy The provenance of the marbles used for the five ancient sculptures on display in the Tribune of the Uffizi—the Venere Medici, the Apollo Medici, the Satiro danzante, the Arrotino and the Lottatori—has been determined using a well-established multi-method approach that includes isotopic, petrographic and EPR data. The Arrotino was found to be made of Docimium marble from the Phrygian quarries of Iscehisar, whereas Parian lychnites was used for the other four sculptures. Restorations, including the restoration of the Satiro ascribed to Michelangelo or his school, primarily used Pentelicon marble. The Lottatori, however, underwent multiple restorations that used a lychnites analytically different from the original stock, as well as Docimium, Carrara and Göktepe marbles. The right arm of the winner, which was considered to be a later addition, turned out to be made using the original marble—lychnites marble. The marble data provide support for the chronology of the sculptures and give insight into the complex sequence of restorations that they underwent. KEYWORDS: TRIBUNA UFFIZI, SCULPTURES, MARBLE PROVENANCE, PETROGRAPHY, EPR, ISOTOPES INTRODUCTION The Tribune is the oldest hall of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, built at the end of the 16th century by Bernardo Buontalenti, on behalf of Grand Duke Francesco I de Medici, to house the most prized works of art of the Medici collection. In the years from 2009 to 2011, an extensive restoration project was undertaken that involved not only the hall itself and its decorations, but also many works of art displayed in the room. Among them are five very celebrated ancient sculptures: the Venere Medici, or Medici Venus, inv. 224, the Apollo Medici, the so-called Apollino, inv. 229, the Arrotino, or Scythian Slave or Knife-grinder, inv. 230, the Satiro danzante, or Dancing Satyr, inv. 220, and the Lottatori, or Wrestlers, inv. 216 (Fig. 1). The sculptures were disassembled, cleaned and reassembled. The stucco fillings used in the course of previous restorations were replaced. This work provided the opportunity to carry out detailed investigations of the marble of the statues. Although some of them, such as the Scythian, have survived from antiquity substantially undamaged, others were heavily restored and reconstructed after their discovery. The most conspicuous example is the group of the Wrestlers, which is composed of almost one *Received 7 January 2014; accepted 23 April 2014 †Corresponding author: Donato.Attanasio@ism.cnr.it doi: 10.1111/arcm.12121 © 2014 University of Oxford Archaeometry 57, Suppl. 1 (2015) 74–89