Light was central to the aesthetics of ancient art and the perception of ancient marble sculptures was dependent on the effects of polish. The visual effects of polish highlighted the stone's surface by transmitting light creating a gloss-like effect and imitating a sparkling quality. These nuanced visual effects of polish's luminosity emphasize this notion of light in creating seemingly animated optical effects that give the impression of movement to these static figures. Such quality aligns well with the notion of poikilia. Poikilia is an ancient aesthetic that is defined by the changeableness of the states of being and describes shimmering or dappled things whether they be animal hides, weapons, or fabrics. It can also be used to signify elaborate or complex personalities or language. The optical properties of polished surfaces to reflect light in a way that is mirror-like and shimmery to enhance the visual impact of sculptures are akin to the aesthetics of poikilia.

Poikilia, or poikilos, is often used in descriptions of ancient Greek divinity and appropriately so as the gods were something of shifting and changeable states of being. Poikilos also captures a certain aspect of color as well. Color and brightness were often considered interchangeable as explained by Sandra Busatta:

Another particularly important example of the union of color and non-color concepts comes from ancient Greek: the adjective χλωρός, cloros, usually translated 'green', refers to both wood and sea water, but also to sand, people, cheese, fish, flowers, fruits, gold, blood and tears (Liddell, Scott & Jones 1968 sv). In fact, this use suggests a range that goes from pale green to greenish yellow to yellow, and involves more or less any pale color. The explanation lies in its proto-Indo-European root * ghlo-, ghel-2 variant of * loūǵʰ sparkle, shine, connected with χλοερός, cloeròs, green, and χλόη, klon, the green of new growth. Words such as yellow, gold, gleam and gloaming (twilight) came from this root * ghlo-, ghel-2.

The material aspects of paint on these polished surfaces remain poorly understood and in many cases, the presence of polish on the surfaces of sculptures was used in testament that these ancient sculptures were indeed not painted for the existence of polish upon the marble was thought in terms of as a stage of 'finish'. However, polish was a multistage process that was preplanned in the earlier stages of marble carving so that the underlying layer was unmarred by the imperfections of the stone resulting from the application of differential stresses induced by the carving process and in anticipation of the subsequent application of color.

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Detail of the polished flesh surface of the marble portrait bust of Septimius Severus, c. 200-210 AD

Busatta, Sandra. “The Perception of Color and The Meaning of Brilliance Among Archaic and Ancient Populations and Its Reflections on Language,” 2014.