Ancient Items Research Articles

Przypadkowa kolekcja starożytności. Muzeum Narodowew Krakowie i jego darczyńcy

The information on collectors responsible for the museum collections is dominated by those who have donated the largest number of or the most spectacular works of art. The collection of ancient art in the National Museum in Krakow (MNK) is mostly known for the museum pieces from the Princes Czartoryski Museum, which had been established by Prince Władysław Czartoryski in 1876, three years before the National Museum in Krakow was opened. It overshadows the collections of the National Museum in Krakow, which were created accidentally thanks to numerous people who, for personal reasons, often wished to donate or sell sometimes just one or several ancient items to this institution. The article aims at commemorating several people and discussing modest gifts, ones that were the basis for creating the collection of the MNK ancient art after having been collected for several dozen years. These museum pieces, although they are not the most representative ones of a given culture, are a significant testament to the development of craft that completes Władysław Czartoryski’s collection and the permanent exhibition in the MNK’s Arsenal.

Randai as Cultural Identity Formation in Minangkabau

The present study is initiated on the phenomenon that people in minang lose such cultural identity. Indeed, the portion of local cultures gradually begins to shift and they are switched into a single culture which is commonly known as "National Culture". On the one hand, the creation of a national cultural identity originates only from a “small part” of regional culture. This has led to cultural stunting in Indonesia. The approach used within the study is cultural study. The cultural study is one of the methods used to understand humans. This study explains conflicts of interest that happened between groups and tribes where they are bond through an understanding of cultural differences. Local culture as a basis values in the life of its people is a factor that must be respected by the government. Society must have the freedom to create their regional identity as a view and guide of their living. Local cultures should not be used as a display and preserved as if they were mere ancient items. On the other hand, local culture must have its own space to be owned by the community.

How Conservation Can Unveil the Story of a Manuscript. An Arabic Qurʾan Commentary from the Yemen

Ancient items have a long and often adventurous story to tell, which forms a significant part of their historical value. Knowing how to make an artefact tell this narrative is as much a part of a conservator’s job as taking care of its physical form. Manuscript Or. 78a from the Library of Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei e Corsiniana in Rome is an emblematic case. This uncatalogued and damaged specimen disclosed its rarity and value during the conservation intervention. Its story begins in 14th-century Rasulid Yemen, but presents a Mamluk-style miniature, traces of different sewings and several possession notes, unveiling its journey to join Prince Leone Caetani’s collection between 1888–1911. This article retraces the steps that brought it from its original home to its present location and then to the conservator’s bench, and explains the conservation and preservation decisions taken in light of the item’s unique vicissitudes.

An entire universe of the Roman world’s architecture found in the human skull

ABSTRACTToday’s neuroanatomical terminology has its origins in the Romans’ way of life, in their civil and military house architecture, as well as in the fields of engineering and technology. Despite the fact that they did not know how the nervous system worked and what the role of each neuroanatomic structure was, over time, especially in Renaissance and early modern times, the anatomists sought descriptive names for the nervous structures they have identified by way of similarity with some ancient items. This study aims to briefly review the influence of Roman architecture, engineering, and technology on neuroanatomic nomenclature, the precursor of modern neuroanatomical terminology.

Study of archaeological artefacts to refine the model of iron long-term indoor atmospheric corrosion

The study of long-term indoor atmospheric corrosion is involved in the field of the interim storage of nuclear wastes. Indeed study of archaeological artefacts is one of the only mean to gather information on very long periods. Concerning ancient items, due to the complexity of the system, it is necessary to couple many analytical techniques from the macro to the microscopic scale. This enables to propose a description of the Amiens cathedral chain rust layers, made of a matrix of goethite, with lepidocrocite and akaganeite locally present and marbling of a poor crystallized phase associated to ferrihydrite. Electrochemical measurements permit to study the reduction capacity of the rust layer and to draw reduction mechanisms of the so-called active phases, by in situ experiments coupled with X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Tin rich layers on ancient copper based objects

A number of archaeological copper based objects, presenting tin rich layers on the surface, dated to different periods and coming from very different geographical contexts in the Ancient World, are discussed in this paper. The different reasons for the presence of tin rich layers on the surface of ancient items have been discussed before. However, new analyses of archaeological objects now offer data on the early use of tinning, on the use of high tin alloys for distinctive objects in the Bronze Age and of the use of special surface treatments employed in antiquity, which might give new insights into the early history of metallurgy and new elements for the identification of trade routes. A surface treatment, possibly employed in Roman times, is also discussed.