The painting of the Etruscan “Tomba della Quadriga Infernale” (4th century BC), in Sarteano (Siena, Italy): technical features

This work presents the results of an investigation of the painting technique used in the Etruscan tomb “Tomba della Quadriga Infernale”. This tomb was discovered in Sarteano (Siena, Italy) in October 2003 and dated back to the second half of the 4th century BC. Red, dark red, pink, yellow, white, black, and grey colours were used in the tomb in order to create paintings, which now represent a very precious record of the Etruscan art of wall painting in a hypogeal environment. The technical features of the painting were revealed by stratigraphy using optical and electronic microscopy. The components and preparatory layers of the painted areas were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). XRD, SEM-EDS, and optical microscopic techniques were also used for mineralogical analysis of the rock substrate. The SEM-EDS and FTIR analyses showed that red and yellow ochre, calcite, and vegetable charcoal were used to paint the walls of the tomb: the pigments, either alone or mixed together, were utilized to produce pure colours (red, yellow, white, and black) and intermediate tonalities (pink, dark red, and grey). SEM-EDS, FTIR, and XRD highlighted that the painting was made on a preparatory layer of calcite, applied onto a levelling material made up of calcite, clay minerals, quartz, and iron oxides. GC/MS analyses revealed that egg was used as an organic binder to disperse the pigments.     

Painting and preserving the ship in the 17th and 18th centuries

Analysis of paint residues and paint equipment from North European shipwrecks together with archival research provides evidence of pigments and colours used. The limitations of pictorial sources and contemporary models is contrasted.     

青海瞿昙寺壁画颜料的研究

通过对青海瞿昙寺画郎和建筑彩绘所用的22个绘画颜料样品的 x-射线衍射和同位素 x 荧光分析.共分析出20多种无机矿物颜料,此外.还有蓝钯、黄钯有机颜料。本文对这些颜料的分析结果进行丁综合论述.并与敦煌石窟、麦积山石窟、炳灵寺石窟等的彩绘颜料进行了研究。     

DISPLAY, DISCLOSURE AND CONCEALMENT: THE ORGANIZATION OF RAW MATERIALS IN THE CHAMBERED TOMBS OF BOHUSLÄN

Summary.   The Neolithic chambered tombs of Bohuslän on the west coast of Sweden were built out of locally occurring raw materials. These exhibit a wide variety of colours, textures and mineral inclusions, and all were used to contrive a series of striking visual effects. Certain of these would have been apparent to the casual observer but others would only have been apparent to someone inside the passage or the burial chamber. There is no evidence that the materials were organized according to a single scheme. Rather, they permitted a series of improvisations, so that no two monuments were exactly alike. The effects that they created are compared with those found in megalithic art where the design elements were painted or carved, but in Bohuslän all the designs were created using the natural properties of the rock.     

罗马帝国时期石头彩饰概述

直到近些年来系统的研究才使人们对罗马帝国时期雕塑上的色彩装饰及其技术有了一定的了解。仔细的分析使一些著名艺术品的色彩得以重现。比如现存于梵蒂冈博物馆的AugustusofPrimaPorta雕像以及the marble revetment of the end wall of the so-called Aula del Colosso in the Augustus Forum in Rome。现在对和平祭坛博物馆颜料的研究也在进行之中。在这个纪念碑中,色彩并不是完全按照现实的方式来标志被塑形象的地位或者来强调救济的政治信息的。不过这并不是一个大致的结论,因为同时代的其他雕塑如在哥本哈根的嘉士伯艺术博物馆里的卡里古拉大帝的肖像,则将注意力更多的放在了色彩的自然效果上。许多有趣的新发现同样来源于对大理石上装饰的关注。在古希腊时代有三种流行的装饰曾经被用到过（尽管在后帝国时期我们可以鉴别出更多的类型和简约化的风格）,尤其是在丧葬礼上。在这个领域,在激光的帮助下,新的保护技术使得重要的发现变成可能。从技术的角度来看有机颜料的重要性比如紫胶染料和湛蓝染料——变得越来越相关。紫色的应用只在亚马逊人的石棺（佛罗伦萨国家博物馆中的公元前四世纪的一个伊特拉斯堪人的石棺）中被发现过。粘合剂知识的进展也同样被关注。以后有必要详细制定一些关于分析和公布结果的标准程序来增加对比以及统计处理的可能性。     

The Role of Theatre in Society: A Comparative Analysis of the Socio-Cultural Theories of Brecht,Benjamin, and Adorno

Abstract

This article analyzes the socio-cultural theories of Adorno, Benjamin, and Brecht through the lens of the theatre, most especially as it pertains to the work of actors. It explores the forces of capitalism that determine how art is produced, distributed, and consumed. Following Adorno’s reading of Marx, actors are here posited as commodities whose labor is separated from the product they create for public consumption. This commodification raises various questions: How does a market economy shape the production and consumption of art? What is technology’s function in the commodification of art? What is art’s sociopolitical role and how does it apply to theatre? To address these questions I juxtapose the cultural theory of Adorno and Benjamin with Brecht’s epic theatre. This comparison exposes the ritualistic potential of the theatre to bring an audience together as a community through sharing a socially enriching event.     

壁画艺术的形态

具有宏大的面积与容量是壁画艺术显的形态特征,而通过物质形态得以呈现的种种精神形态,共同构成了壁画艺术独立于世的个性形态。     

Creative geographies of ceramic artists: knowledges and experiences of landscape,practices of art and skill

This paper argues for a conception of art as an embodied and creative material practice. It draws on research conducted with seven professional ceramic artists who deal with landscape in their work to explore their processes of art-making through interview and (filmed) observation. It demonstrates the distributed range of embodied and relational more-than-artistic practices which inform how landscape is encountered, known and ultimately represented. It argues that artists’ self-expression in art is based upon material, social and political knowledges which interweave in artists’ lives. By studying ceramicists’ making this paper demonstrates both the non-conscious skill and the conscious technical knowledge needed to make art. It shows chance to have a triple role in practices of making, as something to work alongside, to work against and to draw on as a creative resource. This paper both argues for and demonstrates the value of an approach to art-making that frames it as a complex of both conscious, socio-cultural, technical knowledges and non-conscious skills which together (in)form works of (ceramic) art.     

宗族社会与地域文明——以安徽贵池南山刘氏宗族为例

明清民国时期,安徽贵池南山刘氏宗族是一个典型的聚族而居、族有祠、宗有谱的宗族社会,宗族建设所馈留的文化遗存较为丰富,体现在古墟落、祠堂、民居及文化建设的典籍和艺术珍品等方面,反映出中国传统宗族社会聚落一方、营建一方的一般态势,也折射出宗族社会与地域文明的内在关联。     

西风吹拂下的晚清民国艺术

晚清民国,中国艺术处于前所未有的历史转型时期。这一时期的艺术是西风吹拂下的艺术,是中西杂陈、新旧交并的艺术,西方艺术的写实主义被引入作为革新旧艺术的利器。20世纪中叶由于社会原因,中国艺术又从写实主义过渡到现实主义。处于这一时期的艺术家,关注社会,心系国家,把艺术革新跟社会革新、跟国家的命运紧密联系起来。而这一切,都是因为"内外交困",这一切也都是因为"内外交合"。     

Archaeological applications of polynomial texture mapping: analysis,conservation and representation

Polynomial Texture Mapping is an image capture and processing technique that was developed by HP Labs in 2000. It enables the recording and representation of subtle surface details using a standard digital camera and lighting, and software that is free for non-commercial use. Cultural heritage applications have been associated with the technology from its earliest stages, including examples in areas such as cuneiform, numismatics, rock art, lithics and Byzantine art. The paper begins by outlining the technical principles involved. It then brings together the extant work in the field. Through examples developed by the University of Southampton in partnership with a range of UK and international bodies it demonstrates the benefits of the technology in the areas of archaeological analysis, conservation and representation. Finally it considers the future possibilities of this technology and ongoing developments.     

Coloured Prints of the 16th Century: Non‐Destructive Analyses on Coloured Engravings from Albrecht DÜrer and Contemporary Artists

Qualitative investigations of pigments and dyes using micro X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry (micro‐XRF) and visible spectrophotometry (VIS) are suitable non‐destructive methods for the characterization of different colorants in art objects. In this study, several rare coloured engravings from the work of Albrecht Dürer—and, in addition, from the work of Cornelis Cort, Servatius Raeven and Johannes Sadeler—were investigated. The analyses result in specific palettes of colours that were used by different artists or in different workshops for the coloration of engraved images. Starting from these different palettes, it is possible to distinguish coeval colorations that were added in the 16th century from those that were carried out at a later date (e.g., the 19th century).     

THE SECTILIA PANELS OF FARAGOLA (ASCOLI SATRIANO,SOUTHERN ITALY): A MULTI‐ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE GREEN,MARBLED (GREEN AND YELLOW), BLUE AND BLACKISH GLASS SLABS

Analyses at the Cu–K, Fe–K and Mn–K edge were performed to study the green, marbled (green and yellow), blue and blackish (deep greyish olive green) glass slabs decorating three sectilia panels from the archaeological site of Faragola. Results indicate that all slabs were made by mixing siliceous sand with natron, sometimes probably mixed with small percentages of plant ash. Cu²⁺ and Pb antimonates should be responsible for the opaque green colours. The dark green and yellow portions of the marbled slabs are respectively comparable to the slabs comprising only one of these colours. Cu²⁺ together with Ca antimonates probably produced light blue slabs, whereas cobalt was used to produce dark blue slabs. We consider it possible that the abundance ratio of Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ and the complex Fe³⁺S^2? would have an effect on the blackish slabs. The contribution of Mn cannot be ascertained even if it could have played a role in darkening glass colour. The comparison between the chemical composition of Faragola samples and several glass reference groups provided no conclusive evidence of provenance; whereas, the presence of a secondary local workshop can be hypothesized.     

ANALYSIS OF NASRID POLYCHROME CARPENTRY AT THE HALL OF THE MEXUAR PALACE,ALHAMBRA COMPLEX (GRANADA,SPAIN), COMBINING MICROSCOPIC,CHROMATOGRAPHIC AND SPECTROSCOPIC METHODS*†

The pigments, binders and execution techniques used by the Nasrids (1238–1492) to polychrome carpentry in the Hall of the Mexuar Palace at the Alhambra (Granada, Spain) were studied using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with EDX analysis, selective staining techniques and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry. This pioneering investigation presents the first results of a research project devoted to filling gaps in the knowledge of Nasrid art, traditionally approached by stylistic studies. Moreover, it is essential for the polychromy conservation of the studied artworks, and will help to clarify historical and painting uncertainties in the Alhambra monument. The palette consists of a limited range of colours: white (lead‐base pigment), red (cinnabar and red lead), blue (lapis lazuli), black (carbon‐based) and false gold (golden tin). Tempera grassa was the painting technique identified. Two types of grounds were used: (i) gypsum in calligraphy decoration for the false gold technique, and (ii) synthetic minium in geometric drawings in carpentry. Organic insulating layers of linseed oil were used between paint strata. Artists applied synthetic minium to protect the wood (Juglans regia and conifer) against attack by xylophages. To lighten the surface darkened by this ground layer, powdered tin was added to achieve a metallic lustre.     

A Ceramic Assemblage from the Seabed near Kinlochbervie, Scotland, UK

An assemblage of pottery and bricks recovered during two seasons of diving has been sorted by fabric and vessel type, quantified and analysed. A substantial quantity of Italian maiolica, including examples in the grotesque style, and others from Montelupo and other Italian manufactories, has been considered from an art historical perspective, while a range of more utilitarian earthenwares, including olive jars and micaceous redwares, are also present. The chronology of this assemblage is discussed, together with the functions of particular types and an interpretation of the origin of the ship on which they were carried.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

Can the Raman spectrum of anatase in artwork and archaeology be used for dating purposes? Identification by Raman microscopy of anatase in decorative coatings on Neolithic (Yangshao) pottery from Henan,China

Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray analysis has earlier shown that the white background layer (slip) on painted pottery sherds (Yangshao culture, Henan, China, 4200 BC) is composed of kaolinitic clay containing titanium in the assumed form of TiO₂ at just 1 wt%. The same samples of white slip have now been studied by Raman microscopy, revealing bands characteristic of anatase, but none from the majority species, the matrix of kaolinitic clay. These results highlight the extraordinarily intense Raman scattering from even trace amounts of anatase and thus the need to recognise that, although the colours of archaeological artefacts are almost always determined by the nature of the matrix, the Raman spectrum may be determined by a highly scattering trace component such as anatase. The significance of anatase as a potential date-marker pigment on works of art and archaeological artefacts is discussed.     

Chemical composition and colouring agents of Roman mosaic and millefiori glass, studied by electron microprobe analysis and Raman microspectroscopy

About 100 fragments of Roman mosaic and millefiori glass were stylistically attributed to a Hellenistic type, a Ptolemaic and Romano-Egyptian period type and an early imperial period type. Twelve representative fragments were studied by electron microprobe analysis and Raman microspectroscopy. Eleven of them display a Na-pronounced recipe with low K, Mg and P contents, typical for the Roman period. Minor differences in composition are unsystematic, not reflecting the stylistic classification. Ionic colouring agents are Mn³⁺ for violet, Cu²⁺ for light blue, Co²⁺ for deep blue and Fe³⁺ for brown translucent colours. Calcium antimonates, lead antimonate and cuprite are the colourants responsible for white, yellow and red colours, respectively, and additionally serve as opacifiers. Mixing of ionic colouring agents and opacifying colourants led to a more differentiated palette of colours. Pb was used as yellow colouring agent, as a flux material and as a stabiliser for the colourant crystals. The remaining fragment consisting of a K-pronounced but still Na-bearing glass matrix was most likely produced during the Middle Ages or later.     

胡开文墨业考

本以新近公布的墨品实物和献资料对胡开墨业的开创、发展和特点进行了考察。并指出“徽墨”将和中国书画艺术一起流芳百世的趋势。     

造像塔与造像碑 谈甘肃博物馆藏魏晋文物

自汉武帝开疆辟土,张骞开通西域,骠骑将军霍去病进军河西,设四郡,据两关,边防要塞横跨东西,蜿蜒伸向罗布泊,从此外来文化和宗教借此传播渗透。异域少数民族、游牧民族文化艺术在这里融合新生,创造了丝绸之路的繁荣和灿烂,留下了千年古迹和珍贵文物。其中佛教文物艺术和传统文化艺术,在魏晋十六国时期的河西走廊留下了丰厚的遗产。甘肃省博物馆藏魏晋时期的造像塔、     

The Reappearing Masterpiece: Ranking American Artists and Art Works of the Late Twentieth Century

A survey of the illustrations in textbooks of modern art produces the startling finding that art scholars consider Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty to be the most important individual work made by an American artist during the past 150 years. More generally, quantifying the evidence of the textbooks reveals the source of the pluralism, or stylistic incoherence, of American art since the late 1960s. A persistently high demand for artistic innovation has produced a regime in which conceptual approaches have predominated. The art world has consequently been flooded by a series of new ideas, often embodied in individual works, usually made by young artists who have failed to make more than one significant contribution in their careers. The monumental Spiral Jetty, made in 1970 by a young artist who was killed soon thereafter while in the process of making his art, brought together a remarkable number of the central themes of the advanced art of the time and has become a symbol for that art.