Tracking Color Through Time

Polychromy on Etruscan Urns from Ancient Creation to Modern Intervention

Bibliographic Data

ID4534329
AuthorsCecilie Brøns (0000-0001-7089-7958, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, corresponding author), Jens Stenger (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, corresponding author), Anna Katerinopoulou (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, corresponding author), Katherine Eremin (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, corresponding author), Kate Smith (0000-0003-4077-1996, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, corresponding author), Georgina Rayner (0000-0001-8495-0780, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, corresponding author), Susanne Ebbinghau, Susanne Ebbinghaus (0009-0004-1087-1448, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, corresponding author), J Kveiborg (0000-0002-5946-4905, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume128
Issue2
Pages167-197
Publication date2024-04-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9114 • E-ISSN: 1939-828X
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/728694
OpenAlexW4392702071
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited29

A comparative study of four Etruscan terracotta urns from Chiusi, Italy, investigates their ancient polychromy and the urns’ trajectories through changing modern-day art market practices and museum conservation policies. The objects’ shared moldmade motif of a specific scene from Sophocles’ play Antigone makes this group particularly suitable for illustrating differences and similarities in their past and present materiality, uncovered by multispectral imaging and chemical analyses. The analysis of the urns revealed some recurring patterns but also variations in the color scheme of the repeated scene. Moreover, the study underlines how scientific analysis of the polychromy is potentially a useful tool to assess the originality of archaeological artifacts, even in cases of excessive cleaning. The detection of the modern pigment Prussian blue hints at a now-lost chapter of modern overpaint and its later removal on one of the examined urns. This is used as point of departure for a discussion of the changing attitudes and approaches to restoration and conservation in archaeology and art history and their sometimes radical effects on the present-day appearance of museum artifacts.1

Ancient history · Art · Tracking (education) · Visual arts · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeological Research and Protection · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · History · Psychology

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Open DOI