Investigation of the Pigments of the Ancient Portrait Terracotta Found in the Kerch Bay
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TALLOGRAPHIC METHODS IN HUMANITARIAN SCIENCES
Investigation of the Pigments of the Ancient Portrait Terracotta Found in the Kerch Bay M. V. Kovalchuka,b, N. A. Makarovc, E. B. Yatsishinaa, A. A. Antsiferovaa,b,*, P. V. Dorovatovskiia, E. A. Greshnikova, P. K. Kashkarova,b,d, S. N. Malakhova, S. V. Olkhovskiic, N. N. Presniakovaa, and R. D. Svetogorova a National
b
Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute,” Moscow, 123182 Russia Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudnyi, Moscow oblast, 141700 Russia c Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117292 Russia d Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991 Russia *e-mail: [email protected] Received June 28, 2018; revised June 28, 2018; accepted June 28, 2019
Abstract—The results of studying an ancient terracotta sculpture found in the Kerch bay are presented. An attempt is made to reconstruct the initial terracotta color and determine the palette composition of ancient painters using a complex of analytical methods: optical and scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis, X-ray diffraction, and IR spectroscopy. A study of the terracotta made it possible to reveal a polychromatic character of the decor and determine the composition of the pigments. Iron/manganese compounds were used as a dark brown pigment for coloring the hair, beard, and moustache of the ceramic sculpture. Red ochre and gypsum were applied for coloring lips. Sandarac was used as an adhesive layer for depositing inorganic pigments, as well as a protective layer. The portrait terracotta is suggested to play a role of a ship decoration element. DOI: 10.1134/S1063774519060063
INTRODUCTION A large fragment of portrait terracotta was found at a depth of 0.7 m under the sea bottom during underwater archaeological excavations on the archaeological heritage object “Ak-Burun Bay” in the water area of the Kerch Bay in the spring of 2017. The archaeological heritage object “Ak-Burun Bay” is an extensive (more than 75000 km2 in area) accumulation of the damaged cultural layer deposited in the harbor of ancient Greek Panticapaeum city during VI century BC–VIII century AD and displaced to the Ak-Burun cape as a result of dredging in the 1970s. The displaced cultural layer consists mainly of several hundreds of thousands of large fragments and whole ceramic vessels, imported from various trade centers of Mediterranean and Asia Minor [1]. The terracotta sculpture of a man’s head was realized in the adult human proportions (Fig. 1). The clay composition and abundance of pyroxene particles make this terracotta visually similar to Sinope products. The functional assignment of the terracotta was to be found out: it could serve as an architectural element of a public building, a sculpture, or an element of ship decoration. A preliminary visual inspection showed that it combines characteristic features of two or three
Art schools. The upper part of the face is realized in the archaic traditions (sharp transitions, large eyes), whereas the lower part is implemented
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