Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

SummaryThe use of perfumes for the human body as well as for creating scented environments is well documented in the ancient Mediterranean world. However, as this study will elucidate, perfumes were used not just for living human bodies, but also for ancient sculptures. In fact, not only were sculptures originally polychrome and adorned but in some cases they were also scented, which would have made the experience of them not only a visual but also an olfactory one. The present study thus seeks to combine two fields of research: ancient scents and perfumes with that of sculpture. As will be shown, this will broaden our knowledge of the use of perfumes in Antiquity as well as of our understanding of ancient sculpture.

The current study is the first comprehensive investigation of the polychromy of Palmyrene funerary portraits. It presents the technical examinations of six portraits (ca. 150–250 CE) from the collection of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, illustrating the marvellous splendour of the cultural heritage of ancient Palmyra. The six portraits were examined with various analytical methods, including microscopy, ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence imaging and visible light-induced infrared luminescence imaging, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Finally, two samples were collected for liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry to obtain the amino acid sequence information. Various pigments were detected in the polychromy including lapis lazuli, pyromorphite, mimetite, yellow ochre, red ochre, a red lake, lead carbonate, zinc oxide, bone black, and charcoal black. The proteinaceous binding medium was identified as collagen-based and possibly also keratin-based animal glue. The examinations of the Palmyrene portraits in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek have proven that these artefacts, despite their current uniform, white appearance, originally presented themselves in a wealth of colours. This is illustrated by the digital reconstructions carried out of two of the examined portraits, which show how the original painting of these portraits would have given them an entirely different expression from what we see today.

Face to face with Roman Egypt: interdisciplinary studies of ancient panel paintings - M. Svoboda, and C. R. Cartwright, eds. 2020. Mummy Portraits of Roman Egypt: Emerging Research from the APPEAR Project. Pp. 185. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. ISBN 978-1-6060-6654-6. - Volume 34 Issue 2

Extensive studies have been carried out on Etruscan architectural decoration, but so far, little attention has been paid to their polychromy. This article presents the results of various technical analyses of six Etruscan antefixes in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. The antefixes were examined with a variety of non-invasive and invasive methods. The results emphasize the high level of technical competence of the craftsmen. The present study also shows that Etruscan artists often utilized the same pigments and decorative techniques independent of the medium, although important differences have been ascertained for fired and unfired polychromy. The examinations attest the earliest use of Egyptian blue for the rendering of human skin, a custom so far only documented on artefacts belonging to the Roman Period. The overall results of these analyses demonstrate the potential of different scientific techniques as a supplement to traditional research methods in the study of ancient architectural decorations and their polychromy.

Egyptian blue has been identified in a painting from 1524 by the Italian artist Ortolano Ferrarese (Giovanni Battista Benvenuto). Egyptian blue is the oldest known synthetic pigment, invented by the Egyptians in the fourth dynasty (2613-2494 BC) of the Old Kingdom and extensively used throughout Antiquity. From about 1000 A.D., it disappeared from the historical record and was only reinvented in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The discovery of Egyptian blue in Ortolano Ferrarese's painting from 1524 shows that Egyptian blue was in fact available in the period from which it is normally considered not to exist. The identification of Egyptian blue is based on optical microscopy supported by energy-dispersive spectroscopy and visual light photon-induced spectroscopy, and finally confirmed by Raman microspectroscopy.