Study of the Technique and of the Materials of a 19th‐Century Polychrome Wood Mask from Papua New Guinea

This paper presents the results of the analysis carried out on a polychrome wood mask from Papua New Guinea during conservation work at Pigorini Museum's restoration laboratory. The significance of this study is that no prior work has characterized the painting materials of Papua New Guinea masks both with spectroscopic and internal microstratigraphic analysis. In fact, these objects were studied especially from an anthropological or conservative point of view and the wood was wrongly defined by its visual appearance. Microstratigraphic and spectroscopic investigations discovered a refined execution technique that up to now has not been demonstrated. The stratigraphy of the painted layers demonstrates a deep knowledge of the materials and of the application techniques on the part of the Papua New Guinea people, together with the ability to foresee the aesthetic result for the artefact. The analysis of the constitutive materials and of the stylistic features supplied valid results in favour of provenance of the mask from Papua New Guinea.     

Varia

This article opposes the view (propounded recently by O'Hara on the basis of Austin) that there is a calculated ambiguity in Aen. 1, 286–296, to the effect that Caesar the Dictator is as relevant for the interpretation as Augustus. Asserting that Vergil refers only to the latter the present author discusses particular problems, tries to elucidate the underlying historical situation and identifies it specifically with the very beginning of the principate (29 B.C.) showing i.a. that the Parthian question is not pertinent.     

Monitoring of Two Great Venetian Cathedrals: San Marco and Santa Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari

Two examples of monitoring systems of great Venetian Cathedrals, are presented. The first, concerning the Basilica of San Marco, is an example of a long-term monitoring system for a structure that has not undergone any strengthening intervention. The criteria for interpreting this monitoring system data are illustrated. The second example, concerning the Basilica of S. Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, is a clear example of the use of monitoring during the execution of strengthening intervention. This study illustrates the interventions that were carried out on the supporting structures: consolidation of the soil foundation of the bell tower by using the soil-fracturing technique and creation of a structural joint between the bell tower and the Basilica. Through the observational method, this monitoring system was able to check the structural behavior during all the phases of the interventions, thus becoming a precious design tool able to guarantee the safety of the structure and to modify the design solutions during the strengthening intervention, according to the real deformation behavior observed through the monitoring system.