Brightly Colored to Stay in the Dark. Revealing of the Polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus in the Catacomb of San Sebastiano in Rome
The Lot Sarcophagus is one of the most relevant funerary sculptures of late antiquity (mid-4th century AC). Some of the remarkable aspects are the following (i) it is still preserved in situ; (ii) most of the carved scenes are rarities or unicum; (iii) not all the sculpture work has been completed,...
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doaj-7cca4b283b6242ca8a845d64206dd5402020-11-25T02:36:36ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082020-07-0134785887410.3390/heritage3030047Brightly Colored to Stay in the Dark. Revealing of the Polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus in the Catacomb of San Sebastiano in RomeSusanna Bracci0Donata Magrini1Rachele Manganelli del Fà2Oana Adriana Cuzman3Barbara Mazzei4Institute for Heritage Science, National Council of Research–ISPC-CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino 50019 (FI), ItalyInstitute for Heritage Science, National Council of Research–ISPC-CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino 50019 (FI), ItalyInstitute for Heritage Science, National Council of Research–ISPC-CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino 50019 (FI), ItalyInstitute for Heritage Science, National Council of Research–ISPC-CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino 50019 (FI), ItalyPontificia Commissione Archeologia Sacra, Via Napoleone III 1, 00185 Rome, ItalyThe Lot Sarcophagus is one of the most relevant funerary sculptures of late antiquity (mid-4th century AC). Some of the remarkable aspects are the following (i) it is still preserved in situ; (ii) most of the carved scenes are rarities or unicum; (iii) not all the sculpture work has been completed, which allows us to analyse the executive process; (iv) many traces of polychromy have remained. This paper is focused on the characterization of the residual polychromy by using in-situ non-invasive techniques. Furthermore, few micro samples were taken, to be analysed in laboratory to study the composition of some deposits and to define if a preparatory layer was present under the coloured layer. The data showed that the very rich polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus was made of Egyptian blue, yellow ochre, and three different types of red: two inorganics (red ochre and cinnabar), and one organic-based (madder lake). Furthermore, some decorations, completely vanished and no longer visible to the naked eye, have been rediscovered, also providing details on the construction phases. During the project, the 3D model of the sarcophagus was acquired, which afterwards was used to map the results of the diagnostic campaign.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/3/3/47Lot Sarcophaguspolychromynon-invasive analysesarchaeometryconservation |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Susanna Bracci Donata Magrini Rachele Manganelli del Fà Oana Adriana Cuzman Barbara Mazzei |
spellingShingle |
Susanna Bracci Donata Magrini Rachele Manganelli del Fà Oana Adriana Cuzman Barbara Mazzei Brightly Colored to Stay in the Dark. Revealing of the Polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus in the Catacomb of San Sebastiano in Rome Heritage Lot Sarcophagus polychromy non-invasive analyses archaeometry conservation |
author_facet |
Susanna Bracci Donata Magrini Rachele Manganelli del Fà Oana Adriana Cuzman Barbara Mazzei |
author_sort |
Susanna Bracci |
title |
Brightly Colored to Stay in the Dark. Revealing of the Polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus in the Catacomb of San Sebastiano in Rome |
title_short |
Brightly Colored to Stay in the Dark. Revealing of the Polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus in the Catacomb of San Sebastiano in Rome |
title_full |
Brightly Colored to Stay in the Dark. Revealing of the Polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus in the Catacomb of San Sebastiano in Rome |
title_fullStr |
Brightly Colored to Stay in the Dark. Revealing of the Polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus in the Catacomb of San Sebastiano in Rome |
title_full_unstemmed |
Brightly Colored to Stay in the Dark. Revealing of the Polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus in the Catacomb of San Sebastiano in Rome |
title_sort |
brightly colored to stay in the dark. revealing of the polychromy of the lot sarcophagus in the catacomb of san sebastiano in rome |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Heritage |
issn |
2571-9408 |
publishDate |
2020-07-01 |
description |
The Lot Sarcophagus is one of the most relevant funerary sculptures of late antiquity (mid-4th century AC). Some of the remarkable aspects are the following (i) it is still preserved in situ; (ii) most of the carved scenes are rarities or unicum; (iii) not all the sculpture work has been completed, which allows us to analyse the executive process; (iv) many traces of polychromy have remained. This paper is focused on the characterization of the residual polychromy by using in-situ non-invasive techniques. Furthermore, few micro samples were taken, to be analysed in laboratory to study the composition of some deposits and to define if a preparatory layer was present under the coloured layer. The data showed that the very rich polychromy of the Lot Sarcophagus was made of Egyptian blue, yellow ochre, and three different types of red: two inorganics (red ochre and cinnabar), and one organic-based (madder lake). Furthermore, some decorations, completely vanished and no longer visible to the naked eye, have been rediscovered, also providing details on the construction phases. During the project, the 3D model of the sarcophagus was acquired, which afterwards was used to map the results of the diagnostic campaign. |
topic |
Lot Sarcophagus polychromy non-invasive analyses archaeometry conservation |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/3/3/47 |
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