Abstract
ABSTRACTThis study explores the authentication of a bronze statue by means of the evaluation of technical evidence and investigation of patinas formation. The statue was identified by the police as a product of illicit excavation and handed to the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. The visual examination reveals technical features that are consistent with those commonly found on ancient bronze statues while the physicochemical character of the corrosion was in accordance with typical bronze corrosion mechanisms (decuprification). Original features like the metal microstructure were detected on the corrosion layers, showing the complexity and long lasting character of their formation. The metal composition was determined by XRF and the corrosion products were analysed by XRF and SEM-EDS.
Highlights
The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (AMTh) like all State Archaeological Museums in Greece, is responsible for the study, safeguarding, publication and exhibition of antiquities that in most cases are brought to light by official excavations
This study examines one such case, consisting of a small bronze statue that was identified by the police as a product of illicit excavations together with other objects that were handed in to the Archaeological
The results of the preliminary archaeological and archaeometric examination conducted (Karydas and Kantarellou 2010; Maniatis 2010; Michalopoulou 2010; Nazlis 2010) show that it is most probably a work of ancient bronze statuary while stylistic peculiarities noted on the head and other technological issues remain under examination
Summary
The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (AMTh) like all State Archaeological Museums in Greece, is responsible for the study, safeguarding, publication and exhibition of antiquities that in most cases are brought to light by official excavations. This fact gives museums an important advantage as it allows them to use excavation data both for research and for material used to explain the finds to the public. The interpretation and exhibition of objects that lack their excavation context, like those museum artefacts that had been handed in or confiscated, present significant difficulties both in terms of understanding them as well as in terms of certifying their authenticity. Τhe statue along with other objects deriving from illicit excavations, was included, in the temporary exhibition organized in April 2012, by the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and the Directorate for the Documentation and Protection of Cultural Goods (Hellenic Ministry of Culture featuring the problem of illicit trafficking of antiquities) (Adam-Veleni 2012)
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