Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals
Although the polychromy of ancient statuary has become a regular topic in archaeological discussions, in part thanks to archaeometrical analyses, little attention has been given to such aspects in the field of epigraphy. The aim of this paper is to identify analytically the red pigments employed in...
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| I publikationen: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/techne, |
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| Materialtyp: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Språk: | Anglais |
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Technè
2024
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| Länkar: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:techne_22202 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:techne_22202 https://doi.org/10.4000/12cw2 urn:doi:10.4000/12cw2 en https://journals.openedition.org/techne/22202 2024-09-26T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/12cw2 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals Technè C2RMF info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2750-6185 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1254-7867 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/techne Coccato, Alessia Barone, Germana Mazzoleni, Paolo Prag, Jonathan polychromie épigraphie analyses très peu invasives rubrication pigments rouges anciens polychromy epigraphy minimally invasive analyses rubrication ancient red pigments Although the polychromy of ancient statuary has become a regular topic in archaeological discussions, in part thanks to archaeometrical analyses, little attention has been given to such aspects in the field of epigraphy. The aim of this paper is to identify analytically the red pigments employed in inscriptions from southeastern Sicily in the Roman period (1st-6th c. CE), and to investigate the relationship between actual material practice and ancient terminology. Minimally invasive identification of cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) on some funerary and honorific inscriptions aligns with Pliny’s statement on the use of “minium”. However, other less expensive lead-containing pigments were detected, suggesting that different materials were used in different contexts and according to various practices. It appears from this preliminary study that choices of ancient red pigments can provide additional information for understanding epigraphic cultures. Bien que la polychromie de la statuaire antique soit un sujet désormais régulièrement abordé dans les débats archéologiques, grâce notamment aux analyses archéométriques, ces aspects n’ont bénéficié que de peu d’attention dans le domaine de l’épigraphie. Le présent article a pour objet l’identification analytique des pigments rouges utilisés dans les inscriptions de la Sicile sud-orientale à l’époque romaine (ier-vie siècles de notre ère) et l’étude des relations existant entre la pratique matérielle réelle et la terminologie ancienne. L’identification très peu invasive du cinabre (sulfure de mercure) présent sur certaines inscriptions funéraires et honorifiques est conforme aux descriptions de Pline l’Ancien relatives aux usages du « minium ». Toutefois, d’autres pigments moins onéreux contenant du plomb ont été détectés, ce qui suggère que différents matériaux ont été utilisés dans différents contextes et selon des pratiques variées. Il ressort de cette étude préliminaire que les choix de pigments rouges anciens peuvent fournir des informations complémentaires facilitant la compréhension des cultures épigraphiques. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
polychromie épigraphie analyses très peu invasives rubrication pigments rouges anciens polychromy epigraphy minimally invasive analyses rubrication ancient red pigments |
| spellingShingle |
polychromie épigraphie analyses très peu invasives rubrication pigments rouges anciens polychromy epigraphy minimally invasive analyses rubrication ancient red pigments Coccato, Alessia Barone, Germana Mazzoleni, Paolo Prag, Jonathan Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals |
| description |
Although the polychromy of ancient statuary has become a regular topic in archaeological discussions, in part thanks to archaeometrical analyses, little attention has been given to such aspects in the field of epigraphy. The aim of this paper is to identify analytically the red pigments employed in inscriptions from southeastern Sicily in the Roman period (1st-6th c. CE), and to investigate the relationship between actual material practice and ancient terminology. Minimally invasive identification of cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) on some funerary and honorific inscriptions aligns with Pliny’s statement on the use of “minium”. However, other less expensive lead-containing pigments were detected, suggesting that different materials were used in different contexts and according to various practices. It appears from this preliminary study that choices of ancient red pigments can provide additional information for understanding epigraphic cultures. |
| author |
Coccato, Alessia Barone, Germana Mazzoleni, Paolo Prag, Jonathan |
| author_facet |
Coccato, Alessia Barone, Germana Mazzoleni, Paolo Prag, Jonathan |
| author_sort |
Coccato, Alessia |
| title |
Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals |
| title_short |
Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals |
| title_full |
Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals |
| title_fullStr |
Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals |
| title_sort |
initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from roman sicily: comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals |
| publisher |
Technè |
| publishDate |
2024 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/techne |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/12cw2 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/techne/22202 |
| _version_ |
1877292304484532224 |