Virtual reconstruction and representation of an archaeological terracotta statue

Abstract

This paper describes the virtual reconstruction of a late fifteenth century terracotta statue. The proposed solution was adopted during the restoration process when it was not possible to get back the fragments from the missing parts that were lost during the burial period. The archaeological statue that has been called 'Crist del Fossar', according to its morphology and provenance, was found severely damaged, as it appeared highly fragmented with dull and age-worn edges. The restoration was assisted by means of an automatic reassembly technique that operates on digital models of fragments. This technique considers the best alignments between themselves (without the need to manipulate the original ones) and leads the reassembly and adhesion processes of the fragments. The statue will be part of a temporary exhibition at the Museu de Prehistòria de València where visitors would be able to appreciate the restoration of the few fragments that have been conserved and will be able to explore the virtual reconstruction of the entire statue through an immersive 3D interactive visualization

Digitization of religious artifacts with a structured light scanner

“…In (Van Gasteren, 2013) a project is presented for the reproduction of two sculptures, Saint Teresa de Jesús and Christ Tied to the Column, both located in the Convent of Santa Teresa (Ávila, Spain). More recently Díaz-Marín et al (2015) digitized the fragments of an archaeological Terracotta statue in order to obtain a 3D model of the whole statue.…”

Creación de implantes 3D en procesos de conservación y restauración de vidrio arqueológico

“…La restauración virtual estaría indicada en los casos donde no hay suficientes datos para conocer cómo eran los fragmentos desaparecidos permitiendo mostrar una hipótesis de cómo podría haber sido la pieza original. En este caso la aplicación de las nuevas tecnologías puede abrir nuevas posibilidades como la presentada en Díaz, et al (2015), donde se realizó la reconstrucción virtual de una escultura arqueológica de terracota llamada el "Crist del Fossar". La estatua formará parte de una exposición temporal del Museo de Prehistória de Valencia donde los visitantes podrán apreciar la restauración de los pocos fragmentos que se han conservado al tiempo que podrán explorar la reconstrucción virtual de la estatua entera a través de una visualización mediante realidad visual inmersiva.…”