Few papyrological discoveries can match the splash of the so-called ‘Artemidorus papyrus’ (P.Artemid.). For one thing, there is the manuscript's combination of words and pictures, forcing specialists to converse across the parameters of subdisciplinary expertise: scholars have had to grapple with both the literary and visual qualities of the papyrus – not just its Greek text (an account of the Iberian peninsula, apparently derived from the second book of Artemidorus’ Geographoumena), but also its visual embellishments (a preliminary map of Spain, artistic sketches of body-parts and animal-vignettes with exotic-sounding Greek labels). Still more importantly, perhaps, there remain lingering doubts about authenticity. Despite countless tests and impassioned apologies, scholars have yet to throw off the sneaking suspicion that the discovery is simply too good to be true: even before the lavish editio princeps – published by C. Gallazzi, B. Kramer and S. Settis in 2008 – L. Canfora championed the thesis that, far from dating to the first century bc, the papyrus is an elaborate nineteenth-century fake. (For an influential intervention in this journal, ultimately siding with Canfora, see R. Janko, CR 59 [2009], 403–10.)

The volume under review has much to contribute to debates about authenticity. The focus, however, is not the text of the papyrus nor its significance for approaching ancient geographical writing. Rather, the subject lies in arguably the most exciting – and still understudied – aspect: namely, the sketches of hands, heads and feet on one side of the papyrus, and the images of exotic animals and fantastic monsters on the other.

As the editor explains in his short preface (pp. 7–9), the volume explores these disegni in order to conclude the ‘progetto scientifico di seminari e discussioni’ (p. 7). The overriding aim is to discuss the papyrus in light of ‘il disegno (graphike) nel mondo antico’ (p. 7) – including not just iconography, style and technique, but also comparanda, derivations and functions. The book thus follows on from two previous edited collections, dedicated first to Contesto culturale, lingua, stile e tradizione (2009) and second to Geografia e cartografia (2012). As with the earlier anthologies, the volume's origins lie in a conference – in this case held in Florence in 2011 (only the papers by S. Settis and R. Kinzelbach are omitted). All seven chapters are written by world-leading experts, and the language duly oscillates between Italian, English and German.

A. begins by tackling the issue of forgery head-on (‘P.Artemid. and C. Simonides’ Original Drawings’). The chapter is structured in two parts, dealing first with style and technique, and second with questions of authenticity. For all the supposed iconographic correspondences with nineteenth-century models, A. posits, the use of the stylus and vegetal ink rules against a nineteenth-century derivation: ‘Given these technical parameters, our unambiguous conclusion must be that no medieval or modern drawings were produced in the same technique and with the same tools identified in the case of P.Artemid.’; by extension, ‘comparison with indubitably ancient works offers strong evidence against the hypothesis that we are dealing with a modern forgery’ (p. 17). At this point, A. returns to the doubts – advanced most vociferously by Canfora and Janko – that the images were forged by Constantinos Simonides in the nineteenth century. The differences in technique and style, A. argues, rule against any such association. Will A. win over the sceptics? It is easy to foresee one possible response: after all, the arguments here are squarely based on ‘the only drawing we have signed by Constantinos Simonides’ (p. 19).

J. Elsner is refreshingly circumspect about the potential forging of the manuscript (‘Backgrounds and Shadows in the Artemidorus Papyrus’). ‘Authenticity is not likely to be unequivocally proved’, the chapter begins, ‘and the certainty of forgery is not likely to be irrefutably established – since the kinds of evidence we have are in the realm of likelihood, probability and plausibility rather than of clear-cut proof’ (p. 37). Starting out from the assumption that the papyrus is genuine (‘at the risk of making a fool of myself’, but ‘until the parties arguing for forgery come up with better and more convincing evidence than they have to date’), the chapter begins with debates about sequence: should scholars accept G. D'Alessio's philological reconstruction for the order of fragments (cf. esp. ZPE 171 [2009], 27–43), as Elsner does, ‘this makes a great deal of difference if we try to think about the sequence of images and their potential relationships to each other’ (p. 38). Still more important, perhaps, is the ensuing analysis of skiagraphia (‘shadow-painting’), discussed in light of parallels in Campanian murals and Renaissance art, as well as with reference to the Elder Philostratus’ Imagines (e.g. Praef. 2, 1.23.4, 2.20.2, 2.32.4): ‘in the Artemidorus Papyrus we have powerful evidence of the development and teaching of such techniques in the rendering of body-parts in ancient art’ (p. 41). Elsner also discusses the (lack of) consistent spatial or topographical backgrounds, associating this with what he calls the ‘graphic variety’ of the papyrus as a whole (pp. 49–53). ‘It is not inconceivable that the recto images … are by draughtsmen imagining sculptural illusionism’, he posits, ‘while those on the verso are pictorial, and hence care about the illusion of space’ (p. 51).

While Elsner analyses the disegni of both the recto and verso alike, I. Pajón Leyra homes in on the imagery of the verso (‘Paradossografia visiva sul Papiro di Artemidoro’). Some of the zoomorphic designs have real-life referents, the chapter emphasises. Yet many refer to fantastic creations – to hybrid monsters and whimsical beasts. From this perspective, the imagery invites comparison with Hellenistic literary genres of ‘paradoxography’: Pajón Leyra proceeds to associate the disegni with a number of literary testimonia; most significantly, she posits a geographical rationale to the particular assemblage of creatures on the extant portion of the papyrus.

The chapter by E.M. Moormann eschews literary parallels in favour of formalist art historical analysis (‘Linee di contorno e disegni nella pittura greco-romana: collegamenti con i disegni del Papiro di Artemidoro’). On the one hand, Moormann offers a technical introduction to the use of contour lines in the P.Artemid. disegni; on the other, he compares the evidence of Campanian wall-painting as well as earlier Hellenistic materials. The principal contribution lies in the lack of comparanda that Moormann is able to adduce (‘Il rapporto con le pitture quindi rimane vago’, p. 98). At the same time, the chapter relates this conclusion to the vexed question of ‘pattern-books’. Given the discrepancies with Hellenistic and Roman paintings, Moormann argues, the P.Artemid. imagery does not seem to have been used ‘come fonti per i pictores imaginarii’. Rather, the disegni functioned ‘forse come esercizi o passatempi di qualche altra persona che era venuta in possesso del papiro non più usato per la stesura del testo di Artemidoro’ (p. 98).

H. Whitehouse also ends her chapter by returning to the issue of pattern-books, reaching a number of related conclusions (‘Birds, Beasts, and a Unicorn at Oxyrhynchus’). But Whitehouse's chief contribution lies in comparing the P.Artemid imagery with sketches on two Oxyrhynchus papyri, both complete with comparable animal-drawings (one adorned on both sides, the other on the recto alone). These newly published Oxyrhynchus comparanda provide parallels not only for the iconography of the P.Artemid. disegni, she argues, but also for aspects of their style and technique (p. 108). By extension, the difficulties of associating such imagery with ancient mosaic or mural designs should caution against any straightforward ‘pattern-book’ interpretation: with both the Artemidorus and Oxyrhynchus papyri, ‘the nature of the sketches themselves rather suggests that they are the work of a draughtsman trying out some ideas … and not as part of a more permanent compilation’. As such, ‘we are still long way [sic] from being able to identify with confidence the remnants of an ancient pattern-book’ (p. 118).

Somewhat less successful, in my view, are the final two chapters by A. Schmidt-Colinet, ‘The Reconstruction of Pattern Books in the Roman Empire: Some Archaeological Evidence from Palmyra’, and A. Stauffer, ‘Zum Gebrauch von Musterblättern in der antiken Textilherstellung’. Schmidt-Colinet's contribution is the shortest in the volume (four pages in total, excluding bibliography and illustrations), and concentrates exclusively on materials from Palmyra – with very little to say about P.Artemid. While he discusses numerous iconographic and stylistic connections between individual Palmyran monuments, Schmidt-Colinet likewise advances little to support his unwavering belief in pattern-books (‘it becomes obvious that here the patterns went from textile ateliers via sculpture to the architectural workshops’, p. 132). Where Schmidt-Colinet alludes to P.Artemid. only in his first paragraph, Stauffer offers a passing mention at the close of her chapter. The paper offers a neat synthesis of the author's important 2008 monograph (Antike Musterblätter: Wirkkartons aus dem spätantiken und frühbyzantinischen Ägypten), but it does little to relate textile-comparanda to P.Artemid.: Stauffer classes these disegni as ‘Mustervorlagen auf Papyrus’ (p. 154), but without further elaboration or engagement with other contributions.

So much for the parts. But what of the volume as a whole? There can be little doubt that this book will be an important acquisition for research libraries. Likewise, individual scholars will be grateful for the affordable price – not least given the array of illustrations (above all the thirteen plates at the back – albeit printed in black and white rather than colour). Some of the contributions – above all those by A., Elsner and Whitehouse – look set to spur future research. Others, I suspect, will gain little traction: given that this book derives from a collaborative workshop, the lack of engagement between certain chapters is disappointing; the failure of the final two articles to respond to earlier contributions is especially unfortunate.

Discussion of the P.Artemid. imagery is still very much in its infancy. ‘Unlike almost everything else we work on as Classical archaeologists’, as Elsner puts it, ‘the papyrus's images – because of their very recent discovery – have no literature of a century and a half in all the European languages with which to burden us as we try to understand them’: ‘We are on almost virgin territory with not much more help than our own wits can afford’ (p. 39). For this reason alone, scholars should be grateful for such an accessible and wide-ranging anthology. The volume does not provide all the answers. But it will serve as a point of primary future reference.