It has taken
time to get used to, but by now, the world has generally accepted the bright
colors of ancient statues and monuments. The subject was first developed in my post, Ancient Greece in full Technicolor in 2013.
The wide range of colors is something difficult to imagine, and I
love it when an occasional artifact is copied in its original colors or
digitally reconstructed to help to rebuild our mental images. One such example
that stands out is the Lion Horoscope at Nemrud Dag (see: Full color on the lion horoscope of
Nemrud Dag).
From left, The Beauty of Palmyra today, with reconstituted elements, and in the final stage of digital reconstruction. Tahnee L. Cracchio/Ben Goddard/Cecilie Brøns/Lars Hummelshøj
This unknown
woman created between 190 and 210 AD was discovered in a tomb at Qasr Abjad in Syria in 1928. Over
the past months, archaeologist Cecilie Brøns has painstakingly researched the
original colors of this statue using the latest techniques in order to present
it in its full glory to the general public.
Before tackling the pigments, the statue was digitally
reconstructed, adding the missing fragments like the nose, lips, and her left
hand. Only then was the Beauty of Palmyra enhanced with the colors to bring her
back to life. Additionally, her jewels were revived digitally also inspired
by the precious stones found during excavations at Palmyra .
For the true aficionados, it is interesting to know that a special
exhibition The Road to
Palmyra runs
at the Ny
Carlsberg Glyptotek till 1 March 2020.
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