This is the first publication in a projected series dealing with the care of fine artworks. In it David Rinne, a former conservator at the Getty Museum, describes common problems encountered when conserving marble objects and the appropriate treatments, beginning with the surface and progressing though to the center. The last section of the text explains elements of treatment such as disassembly, reconstruction, and the final state of the sculpture.
The nineteen papers in this volume stem from a symposium that brought together academics, archaeologists, museum curators, conservators, and a practicing marble sculptor to discuss varying approaches to restoration of ancient stone sculpture. Contributors and their subjects include Marion True and Jerry Podany on changing approaches to conservation; Seymour Howard on restoration and the antique model; Nancy H. Ramage’s case study on the relationship between a restorer, Vincenzo Pacetti, and his patron, Luciano Bonaparte; Mette Moltesen on de-restoring and re-restoring in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; Miranda Marvin on the Ludovisi collection; and Andreas Scholl on the history of restoration of ancient sculptures in the Altes Museum in Berlin. The book also features contributions by Elizabeth Bartman, Brigitte Bourgeois, Jane Fejfer, Angela Gallottini, Sascha Kansteiner, Giovanna Martellotti, Orietta Rossi Pinelli, Peter Rockwell, Edmund Southworth, Samantha Sportun, and Markus Trunk. Charles Rhyne summarizes the themes, approaches, issues, and questions raised by the symposium.
In sixteen essays, prominent art historians, sculptors, scientists, and conservators discuss ancient marble sculpture. The essays are based on a symposium held at the J. Paul Getty Museum in April 1988. Topics include the provenancing of marble, the detection of marble forgeries, scientific analysis and authentication of ancient marble, marble quarrying and trade in the ancient world, and the techniques used in ancient sculpture.
The collection of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman of New York is one of the most important private collections of ancient Greek and Roman art in the United States and among the most important in the world. Composed of approximately three hundred objects from the Bronze Age to the Late Antique, it includes bronze statuettes, marble sculpture, vases, jewelry, lamps and candelabra, keys, weights, and silver bowls and utensils. The Fleischmans have a particular fascination with pieces associated with everyday life in antiquity, since these objects evoke a human connection to the past. They are also drawn to pieces that exemplify the human propensity to transform a functional object into a thing of beauty. Not only has their emotional response to an object’s aesthetic appeal or its historical significance guided them in their forty years of collecting, personal interests have been at work as well. The large number of pieces related to the theater or representing theatrical subjects reflects Barbara Fleischman’s lifelong love of that art. A Passion for Antiquities contains photographs and extensive catalogue entries on the objects included in the exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Eighteen contributors provide art historical and descriptive information about each piece. The objects not selected for the exhibition are detailed in a checklist that specifies their origins, dates, media, and sizes. This book is the first major reference on the entire collection, since most of the objects have never before been publicly shown. To facilitate finding specific objects or groups of objects, the book is organized first chronologically and then by medium. Bibliographic sources for each entry cite both publications where the specific work is discussed as well as references to related scholarship. Karol Wight provides a chronological overview of the collection, and Oliver Taplin relates selected pieces to the development of Greek theater. The exhibition of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman’s collection and this catalogue allow us to enter into their minds and emotions so that, for a time, we can share their passion for antiquities.
Situates the study of Roman sculpture within the fields of art history, classical archaeology, and Roman studies, presenting technical, scientific, literary, and theoretical approaches.
This first volume in the Occasional Papers on Antiquities subseries on ancient portraits presents a detailed examination and analysis by Sheldon Nodelman of a portrait of Brutus. Fleming Johansen reviews marble busts of Julius Caesar and, in a second article, discusses portraits of Caligula. Other contributions include Susan Wood’s analysis of third-century portraits of child emperors and Siri Sande’s essay on two Gallienic female portraits.
First published in 1996, this volume has been substantially updated to reflect new research in the conservation of stone monuments, sculpture, and archaeological sites.
Oxbow says: This book's author does not shy away from expressing her opinions on the destruction of ancient sites in Greece and her belief that the Elgin Marbles are best left in the care of the British Museum, or at least for the time being.
Figural and non-figural supports are a ubiquitous feature of Roman marble sculpture; they appear in sculptures ranging in size from miniature to colossal and of all levels of quality. At odds with modern ideas about beauty, completeness, and visual congruence, these elements, especially non-figural struts, have been dismissed by scholars as mere safeguards for production and transport. However, close examination of these features reveals the tastes and expectations of those who commissioned, bought, and displayed marble sculptures throughout the Mediterranean in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Drawing on a large body of examples, Greek and Latin literary sources, and modern theories of visual culture, this study constitutes the first comprehensive investigation of non-figural supports in Roman sculpture. The book overturns previous conceptions of Roman visual values and traditions and challenges our understanding of the Roman reception of Greek art.
