Late Classical and Hellenistic painting techniques and materials: a review of the technical literature

Kakoulli, Ioanna

doi:10.1179/sic.2002.47.supplement-1.56

Cited by 42 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The data collected on the Tebtunis materials are very specific to the Graeco‐Roman world and, overall, probably come from sources from around the Mediterranean. In addition to the use of wax, which clearly reflects the influence of the Graeco‐Roman artists, the palette of pigments employed in the Tebtunis assemblage corresponds very well to the materials identified in surviving painted artefacts from the Hellenistic and Graeco‐Roman culture, as described in a review by Kakoulli (). These results further confirm the strong connection between the technical practices of the artists from the Fayum region and the larger Roman world, facilitated by extensive inter‐regional trade in materials.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

A Roman Egyptian Painting Workshop: Technical Investigation of the Portraits from Tebtunis, Egypt

et al. 2017

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Roman‐period mummy portraits are considered to be ancient antecedents of modern portraiture. However, the techniques and materials used in their manufacture are not thoroughly understood. Analytical study of the pigments as well as the binding materials helps to address questions on what aspects of the painting practices originate from Pharaonic and/or Graeco‐Roman traditions, and can aid in determining the provenance of the raw materials from potential locations across the ancient Mediterranean and European worlds. Here, one of the largest assemblages of mummy portraits to remain intact since their excavation from the site of Tebtunis in Egypt was examined using multiple analytical techniques to address how they were made. The archaeological evidence suggests that these portraits were products of a single workshop and, correspondingly, they are found to be made using similar techniques and materials: wax‐based and lead white–rich paint combined with a variety of iron‐based pigments (including hematite, goethite and jarosite), as well as Egyptian blue, minium, indigo and madder lake to create subtle variations and tones.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

A Roman Egyptian Painting Workshop: Technical Investigation of the Portraits from Tebtunis, Egypt

et al. 2017

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“…Plant gums could have been applied as a kind of superficial coating on top of the paint layer to protect it, or even as an isolation layer between the plaster and the paint layer or/and between the paint layers themselves. The use of Acacia gum as an isolation layer has been reported on Late Classical painting (Kakoulli, 2002). We may not exclude the possibility, however, of an intentional mixture between egg and plant gums in order to ensure more elasticity to the paint layer.…”

Section: Analysis By Pyegc/msmentioning

confidence: 95%

Characterization of organic media in the wall-paintings of the “Palace of Nestor” at Pylos, Greece: evidence for a secco painting techniques in the Bronze Age

Brecoulaki

Andreotti

Bonaduce

et al. 2012

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…For the period of interest (around fifth century BCE), Tyrian purple was identified in three objects found in the Eastern Mediterranean: in the Persian King Darius I stone jar dated in the fifth century BCE (Koren 2008), in a fabric found within a sarcophagus (fifth century BCE) which was excavated in Athens, Greece (Margariti et al 2013) and an astragalos (sixth to second century BCE) found in the cave of Koroneia, Greece (Colombini et al 2004). Mediterranean archaeological findings decorated with molluskan purple and dated to the later Macedonian and Hellenistic periods are also rare (Andreotti et al 2006;Kakoulli 2002;Karydas 2006;Maravelaki-Kalaitzaki and Kallithrakas-Kontos 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

FTIR imaging and HPLC reveal ancient painting and dyeing techniques of molluskan purple

Papliaka

Konstanta

Karapanagiotis

et al. 2015

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and imaging coupled to optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to diode-array detection are used to investigate two samples removed from a painted decoration of a burial kline and a textile fragment, both found in Koru tumulus (fifth century BCE) in Daskyleion. Tyrian purple and kaolinite were identified in both samples, thus suggesting that the aluminosilicate compound had an important role in the applied painting and dyeing processes. The textile fragment is composed of undyed cotton and silk yarns dyed with the molluskan dye. The relative compositions of the molluskan materials used in the two archaeological objects are similar and comparable with the corresponding composition measured for a purple sample originated from Murex trunculus mollusks according to the HPLC results. This result is supported by principal component analysis (PCA) which, furthermore, takes into account the relative compositions of the extracts of the three Mediterranean mollusks, published in previous reports.

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Late Classical and Hellenistic painting techniques and materials: a review of the technical literature

Cited by 42 publications

References 8 publications

A Roman Egyptian Painting Workshop: Technical Investigation of the Portraits from Tebtunis, Egypt

A Roman Egyptian Painting Workshop: Technical Investigation of the Portraits from Tebtunis, Egypt

Characterization of organic media in the wall-paintings of the “Palace of Nestor” at Pylos, Greece: evidence for a secco painting techniques in the Bronze Age

FTIR imaging and HPLC reveal ancient painting and dyeing techniques of molluskan purple

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