SOC710-VP spectral imager scans ancient Roman sculpture for hidden pigmentation

Surface Optics recently loaned out an SOC710-VP spectral imaging system to the University of Georgia (UGA) for use in an interdisciplinary study of an ancient Roman sculpture on exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art (GMOA).

The exhibition and research, titled “Object in Focus: The Orpheus Relief Project”, investigates evidence of original polychromy on a portion of marble relief remaining from a larger composition known as “The Orpheus Relief”.

SOC President Dr. James Jaffola and Sales Engineer Mike Zemlan traveled to the University of Georgia , performing data collection for the project and lecturing to UGA researchers on the non-contact spectral imaging techniques available for historical, conservation and archaeological studies.

Although ancient civilizations are known to have painted sculpture and carved stone with vivid colors, much of this original polychromy has been lost over time.

The University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art, Center for Applied Isotope Studies, department of chemistry and department of classics will collaborate to analyze trace pigments that have survived on the surface of the relief and can now be identified and characterized using data collected by the SOC710-VP portable spectral imaging system (400 – 1000nm spectral range).

Fragment of the Orpheus Relief, Roman period (ca. 50 BC−AD 50) replica of a Greek original, ca. 430–400 BC.
Fine-grained white marble with applied pigment.
Research loan to the Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia from the David M. Robinson Memorial Collection, University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses, 77.3.569

In addition to scanning the relief itself, the SOC710-VP was used to collect data on a color sample named ‘Egyptian Blue’, one of the earliest synthetic pigments, and believed to have been used on the Orpheus Relief. Photos of Sales Engineer Mike Zemlan calibrating the SOC710-VP and performing scans are available with the Athens Banner-Herald article “GMOA project blends art and science” (October 17, 2012).

As reported in the Athens Banner-Herald, the scans won’t just reveal colors, “they’ll show exact, dateable pigments that will accurately place the sculpture on a timeline. From these scientific examinations, a digital image — a graphic reconstruction — will be produced, showing the relief’s ancient appearance”. The full Orpheus Relief depicts three figures from Greek mythology, Hermes the messenger god escorting Eurydice to the Underworld during her final parting from her husband Orpheus. To view the relief fragment within its original three-figured composition vist the official blog for the project’s findings.

For more information on the SOC710-VP:
Contact Mike Zemlan (mike.zemlan@surfaceoptics.com)

For more information on the Orpheus Relief Project, see:
Georgia Museum of Art: “Object in Focus: The Orpheus Relief Project”