The rarest blue: An exceptional find of lapis lazuli in the polychromy of a funerary portrait from ancient Palmyra |
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| Authors: | C Brøns S B Hedegaard J Bredal-Jørgensen D Buti G Pastorelli |
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| Institution: | 1. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (NCG), Dantes Plads 7, DK-1556 Copenhagen V, Denmark;2. The School of Conservation, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation (KADK), Esplanaden 34, DK-1263 Copenhagen, Denmark;3. Center for Art Technological Studies and Conservation (CATS), National Gallery of Denmark, Sølvgade 48–50, DK-1307 Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Abstract: | 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. |
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| Keywords: | polychromy Palmyra lapis lazuli SEM/EDS Raman spectroscopy FTIR |
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