This book represents the second volume of papers and posters delivered at the international conference held in 2007 in Izmir on the topic of terracotta figurines from the Greek and Roman Mediterranean world. As the conference gathered nearly 170 participants offering 45 papers and 91 posters, the scientific committee decided to group the contributions in two volumes, the first one is forthcoming (A. Muller and E. Lafli [edd.], Figurines de terre cuite en Méditerranée grecque et romaine. Volume 1: Production, diffusion, étude [BCH Supplément 54] [2016]).

The introduction frames the scope of the conference and its papers. The editors emphasise that the terracotta figurines are rarely the subject of specific congresses and the Izmir conference was ‘la premier manifestation scientifique d'envergure sur le figurines de terre cuite’. While the first volume contains papers focused on the production and the distribution of the terracottas, this second one collects contributions on two main themes, the iconography and the functions of the terracottas in their archaeological contexts.

In the introduction, the editors offer an analysis of the scientific outcome from the conference. First, a remarkable amount of unpublished terracotta figurines were presented. One of the main issues is their meaning in different contexts (houses, public buildings, tombs and cult places). It is correctly highlighted that for a plausible interpretation the terracotta figurines need to be analysed in association with the overall assemblages where they were found.

A second aspect underlined by M. and L. is the state of research in coroplastic studies. The editors emphasise the importance of adopting a common technical vocabulary and giving a correct notion of the coroplastic ‘workshop’. Also, the iconography of the sole figurines has to be compared with those of other finds (bronze statuettes, figured vases, etc.).

The papers are grouped into three main sections. The first collects contributions on the iconography, interpretation and function of the terracotta figurines. Stylistic studies are devoted to some coroplastic types, including their geographical distribution, such as kouroi (L. Bournias, pp. 23–30), Herakles-type statuettes (J. Uhlenbrock, pp. 31–9), hydrophoroi (J. Kozlowski, pp. 41–8), figurines of Artemis Bendis (M. Deoudi, pp. 49–59), sirens (N. Mathieux, pp. 67–82), possible women gladiators from Thrace (I. Şahln and H. Güçlü, pp. 107–14) and veiled dancers (N. Martin, pp. 189–94). Some contributions examine the meaning of the types, such as the male dolls from Ephesus (C. Lang-Auinger, pp. 83–93), the gladiator figurines from Pompeii (V. Iorio, pp. 95–105), two enigmatic kourothrophoi from Bet She'an, Israel (R. Rosenthal-Heginbottom, pp. 115–24) and the terracotta female musicians from Sicily (A. Bellia, pp. 181–8). Context and fabrics, including some archaeometrical analysis, are briefly studied in D. Akar Tanriver's paper on the bovine figurines from the Sanctuary of Apollo Clarius, Ionia (pp. 125–36). Some other iconographical motifs are investigated, in particular the plastic vases (A. Pautasso, pp. 139–44; M. Ciuccarelli, pp. 145–8; M. Dewailly, pp. 502–11, placed in the third section) and the female protomes (V. Sabetai, pp. 149–63; K. Tzanavari, pp. 165–79). Tzanavari's paper is a comprehensive study on the protomes from Lete (Macedonia), including the analysis of contexts (tombs), typological and technological features and iconography. Figurines reproducing Egyptian deities are examined in C. Barrett's (pp. 195–208) and J.-L. Podvin's papers (pp. 209–17). In particular, Barrett deals with the complex relation between popular and official cults in Delos.

The second and third sections contain papers on the meaning and function of the figurines in association with their archaeological contexts. For domestic sites, particularly relevant is H. Sharpe's paper on the materials from Olynthus (pp. 221–36), where the terracottas are studied in combination with their findspot and the other artefacts found in proximity. Sharpe points out that many of the figurines come from domestic spaces and are associated with objects primarily connected with the work and life of women. The function of terracotta statuettes is investigated for the Terrace House 2 complex in Ephesus (E. Rathmayr, pp. 267–80). Coroplastic artefacts are also common in domestic cult places, like the two Dionysian cultic buildings discovered in Pergamum (S. Japp and H. Schwarzer, pp. 249–65) and a domestic shrine recently excavated in Samo (M. Kosma, pp. 281–7). In Kosma's paper, the context, a semicircular structure containing a group of terracotta figurines in situ, is thoroughly described together with other finds. Terracottas are also documented in public buildings, such as the assemblage of over 300 terracotta figurines belonging to various types found in the Hellenistic baths of Thessaloniki (E. Zografou, pp. 237–47); a great number of finds come from taverns and shed some light on their use and function.

Coroplastic artefacts are very popular in Greek and Roman tombs. Among the papers that address this theme, some studies offer not only a detailed overview of the types attested in the graves but also an accurate description of the associated archaeological record. Two tombs from Thebes are fully analysed (A. Harami and V. Jeammet, pp. 317–31; M. Bonanno-Aravantinos, pp. 333–48). Particularly remarkable is one of the contexts from Parion discussed by C. Kozanli (pp. 385–98), a children's grave that yielded 74 terracottas belonging to different types, primarily young males and animals. It is worth noting that the presence of female names impressed on some specimens from Parion before firing provides clues on the role of women in coroplastic production. The presence of terracotta figurines in tombs might represent a distinctive cultural trait for some familiar groups, as O. Mariaud (pp. 297–304) observed for the Archaic graves of Samos. In another case it is noticeable that specific types (i.e. nude girls, dolls and toys) were selected mainly for graves of children and young girls, whose premature death did not allow them to reach the status of marriage (A. Schwarzmaier, pp. 305–15; M. Bonanno-Aravantinos, pp. 333–48; M. Selekou, pp. 357–64). P. Malama's paper on the necropolis of Amphipolis (pp. 365–74) represents, in this book, one of the few analyses of diachronic distribution of the terracotta statuettes in a funerary complex.

In Section 3, the role and interpretation of the terracottas from cult places is by far the most represented topic. For the most part, the papers give only a short description of the votive context, and the other associated materials are rarely described in detail (A. Barakari-Gleni, pp. 417–24; M. Spathi, pp. 437–48; S. Samartzidou-Orkopoulou, pp. 465–72; V. Vassilopoulou, N. Skoumi and E. Nassioti, pp. 473–80; A. Duplouy and A. Zambon, pp. 481–6; W. Wamser-Krasznai and M. Recke, pp. 547–53; F. Berti, pp. 529–36). Some are preliminary contributions of ongoing comprehensive studies, such as the votive deposit in Stratos, Akarnania (A. Nagel, pp. 449–56). A full description of the finds is provided for a recently investigated cave sanctuary at Arpalik Tepe, Pisidia (G. Işin, pp. 555–70). Some old excavations, as well, are subjects of a re-examination that tries to investigate the cult practices through the votive assemblage, such as Çirişli Tepe, a high mountain site in the Black Sea (L. Summerer, pp. 571–86). Only a few papers show a diachronic approach, such as those on the terracottas from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Palaepaphos, Cyprus (D. Leibundgut-Wieland, pp. 589–603) and the Artemision of Ephesus (M. Dewailly and U. Muss, pp. 497–514). T. Kopestonsky (pp. 407–16) provides a comprehensive picture of the terracotta figurines from the many small shrines at Corinth and reveals insights into a complex network of local cults, primarily related to the worship of heroes, ancestors and Nymphs. T. Ilyina's paper (pp. 605–8), on the protomes from the sanctuary of Maiskaya Mount, Asian Bosphoros, focuses on results from archaeomagnetism, a method seldom used for dating terracottas.

This volume provides an abundant and useful collection of key studies on coroplastics. Many contributors have tried to overcome the traditional stylistic and typological perspective in favour of a more contextual and functional approach to the terracotta figurines, which analyses them together with the associated archaeological record. However, there is an unevenness in the quality of the contributions. Only a few papers examine the context and the associated materials in detail, while a considerable number of them, especially those dedicated to the terracottas from cult places, do not go beyond a short description of the relevant archaeological record.