The World under the Stars: Astrological Geography and the Bologna 1477 Edition of Ptolemy’s Cosmographia

ABSTRACT

This article is a re-examination of the first complete printed edition of Ptolemy’s Cosmographia (Bologna, de Lapis, 1477), hitherto considered flawed and defective. An investigation of the status and priorities of the team of court astrologers responsible for this edition, and an examination of the alterations they made to Ptolemy’s maps, suggests that their aim was a redaction intentionally different from existing versions of the Geography. It is suggested that the editors sought to adjust the arrangement of provinces from that recommended in Ptolemy’s Geography (book VIII) to the astrological arrangement detailed in his Tetrabiblos (book II) and that they modified the content of the key regional maps accordingly. In this light, the Bologna 1477 edition underlines the importance of assessing the reception of Ptolemy’s geographical work against a cultural background in which astrology prevailed as an integrated system of knowledge, practices and beliefs.     

Lapis lazuli usage for blue decoration of polychrome painted glazed pottery: a recurrent technology during the Middle Ages in Apulia (Southern Italy)

Seven fragments of atypical proto-majolica from the archaeological site of Siponto (Manfredonia, Foggia) were analysed by chemical and physical methods. All fragments have blue, brown and yellow painted decorations. Raman microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy–Energy Dispersed Spectroscopy (SEM–EDS) investigations identified the blue pigment to lapis lazuli. We previously identified this mineral in the blue coloration of the tin–lead glaze of proto-majolica finds at other Medieval sites in Apulia (Castel Fiorentino and Lucera). The discovery of the fragments from Siponto, in spite of their peculiar technological-decorative features, proves that the use of lapis lazuli as a ceramic pigment was not an isolated occurrence, but was quite common in the Middle Ages in the production of typologically heterogeneous ceramics in Southern Italy.     

The rarest blue: An exceptional find of lapis lazuli in the polychromy of a funerary portrait from ancient Palmyra

The current interdisciplinary study of a funerary portrait has provided the first identification of a blue pigment on Palmyrene sculpture. The exceptional attestation of lapis lazuli on the examined portrait confirms the use of this highly valuable semiprecious stone in ancient polychromy, which was previously thought to be a later addition to the painter's palette. Considering that the archaeological record contains numerous minor objects carved from lapis lazuli, there are astonishingly few known instances of its use as a pigment. This Palmyrene discovery is only the third known example from Antiquity.     

克孜尔石窟出土蓝色颜料研究

克孜尔石窟是蜚声中外的佛教艺术宝库,其丰富的历史文化遗存,是研究丝绸之路文化交流与融合的重要实物资料。为了解克孜尔石窟第189窟前发现的蓝色颜料,采用X射线衍射(XRD)对其成分进行分析,采用拉曼、扫描电镜能谱仪(SEM-EDS)将其与第189窟壁画蓝色样品的元素组成及物相进行对比,采用酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)、透射傅立叶红外光谱(FTIR)对其可能含有的胶结材料进行分析。结果表明,该出土蓝色颜料样品为青金石,胶结材料为植物胶。研究表明,通过多种分析手段联合使用,可以更全面、客观地了解分析对象的各种信息,为今后克孜尔石窟壁画制作材料及制作工艺的分析提供经验和借鉴。     

中国古代青金石颜料的电镜分析

运用扫描电子显微镜、电子探针微量分析等仪器分析手段对甘肃敦煌莫高窟、西千佛洞、永靖炳灵寺、天水麦积山、青海乐都瞿昙寺等地石窟寺、寺院彩绘艺术中所应用的青金石颜料进行了显微形貌和成分分析。结果表明：从西秦、北魏、西魏、北周、隋、唐、五代、宋、西夏、元、明十余个朝代,千余年间,不同地区所用青金石颜料的微量元素大致相同。在敦煌莫高窟、天水麦积山石窟样品中发现了Zn元素,经XRD分析证实,颜料中有ZnO存在。     

显微镜探知中国古代颜料史

2003年2008年期间,采用光学显微镜对来自全国11个省和自治区超过30处的考古工地和文博单位的彩绘文物颜料进行了分析和研究,勾勒出中国古代颜料应用的历史轮廓：本文将中国颜料应用史分成三部分论述,先秦至两汉、魏晋南北朝到清代中期、清代晚期。每个时期颜料的应用和彩绘的工艺均有各自的特点,文章配有大量精美的显微照片配合说明。先秦至两汉以中国蓝中国紫为代表,表现出当时科技活动的活跃,秦代骨白的应用也是一个有趣的例子;魏晋南北朝到清代中期是颜料发展史的平和期,这一时期构建起中国传统颜料的体系,未有太大的变化,惟有元代开始应用的苏麻离青颜料是一个关注点;清代晚期。西方工业合成颜料大量涌入是这个时期的显著特点。