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Ancient Attic Greek Vases


Figure 2 : The Worcester Art Museum’s portable fi xed-light array RTI dome. Republished with permission of Maney Publishing, from [2]; permission conveyed through CCC.


second publication [ 2 ]. An overview of the Worcester Art Museum research is summarized in this article.


Materials and Methods Vases . Ten vases or fragments thereof were examined with RTI and a 3D laser scanning confocal microscope (OLYMPUS LEXT OLS4000) as part of this research. T ese works were carefully selected to cover as broad a time span of the red-fi gure production period as possible using only dated works (c. 510 to c. 330 BCE). All of them except two have been attributed by scholars. Among them are eight vase fragments from the collection of the Harvard Art Museums, with the remainder from the Worcester Art Museum collection. In addition, a black-fi gure vessel from the late sixth century BCE and a red-fi gure vessel from South Italy, also from Worcester, were examined. Methodology . T e RTI instrument [ 1 , 2] used for this project employed 40 fi xed lights arrayed in a dome-like confi guration and a high-resolution Canon EOS-1 Mark III digital camera mounted on an adjustable stand ( Figure 2 ). To generate an RTI fi le, 40 individual digital images are taken of the same surface detail as it appears under the various angles of illumination provided by the fi xed-light array. Fitting soſt ware combines the 40 images into one interactive fi le, resulting in a high-resolution 2D representation of an object’s intricate 3D surface. Relevant RTI still-captures are illustrated in this article. Figure 3 illustrates how topographical features—such as preliminary sketch lines, the broad contour line surrounding the fi gures, and relief lines used to outline the fi gures and to describe shapes like ears and eyes—are more readily discerned using RTI.


In addition to RTI, an OLYMPUS LEXT OLS4000 3D laser scanning confocal microscope [ 1 , 2 ] was used for nanometer- level imaging and 3D topographical measurements of the


32


Figure 3 : Split-image detail of Thetis’s head depicted on the stamnos in Figure 1 . The image shows RTI still-captures of the detail, one with specular enhancement (upper left) and the other under normal illumination (lower right). Republished with permission of Maney Publishing, from [2]; permission conveyed through CCC.


surfaces examined. T is instrument features a dual confocal system and uses a 405 nm laser. Surface measurements can be presented in a number of modes including real-color 3D dual confocal images and 3D elevation maps. In its standard confi guration, the microscope is equipped with 20×, 50×, and 100× objectives.


Results


Relief line . T e type of line used for outlining fi gures and for painting details like eyes, mouths, hair, body parts, and folds in garments is called a relief line. T ese lines consist of black glaze material and—as their name suggests—exist in relief and have a 3D quality. T ey occur in a relatively wide range of lengths. Whereas longer lines like those typically used in garments are continuous, dynamic, and fl uid, shorter lines are less fl uid, can be quite thick, and are typically in higher relief. During examination of the Tyszkiewicz stamnos it was noticed that some relief lines have a profi le characterized by a single peaked ridge, whereas other relief lines have a distinctly furrowed profi le ( Figure 4 ). Debate remains as to what tools were used to produce relief lines. Tools that have been suggested include a reed pen [ 3 ] or a metal pen, a quill [ 3 ], the tip of a feather [ 4 ], a thin brush [ 5 ], a brush with only a few hairs [ 6 , 7 , 8 ], and a syringe-like instrument made from a feather quill and animal intestine or bladder used to extrude the glaze [ 9 , 10 ]. Today there is a general consensus that reed or metal pens could not have produced the relief line because the thick glaze material cannot travel through the narrow pen channel, which functions by capillary action [ 8 ]. T e two types of relief lines were successfully replicated through mockups and identifi ed by the authors as follows: the laid line , characterized by a ridged profi le, and the pulled line, characterized by a furrowed profi le [ 1 , 2 ]. Both line types were reproduced with brushes made with only a few hairs, as fi rst


www.microscopy-today.com • 2015 July


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