Attic Polychrome Plastic Vessels from the State Historical Museum Collection: Comprehensive Studies

Abstract

Comprehensive studies of three Attic plastic vessels dated to the 4th century BC from the State Historical Museum collection have been performed. The use of  X-ray tomography (XRT), large-scale X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping, energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX) under scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD-SR) analysis made it possible to study in detail their state of preservation (including restoration traces) and the manufacturing technology, as well as to identify the pigments used in painting the surface. Based on the pigment residues, identified visually and on XRF maps, a reconstruction of the polychrome painting of the vessels was proposed. Because of the poor state of preservation of the coating on the surface of two vessels, the reconstruction of their possible polychrome painting was performed based on a comparison with known analogues.