Attic pottery - the iconic red- and black-figure pottery produced in ancient Greece from the 6th to 4th centuries B.C. - represents the pinnacle of ancient ceramic craftsmanship and is considered one of the first precision ceramic technologies. However, the means by which ancient craftsmen produced these remarkable vessels is still not completely understood. A new collaborative project between the Getty Conservation Institute, Stanford University/SLAC National Accelerator Facility and The Aerospace Corporation will study the chemical and physical makeup of these ancient ceramics at an unprecedented level of detail using state-of-the art high-resolution analytical technologies. The results are expected to significantly advance the knowledge of the materials and methods used to create Attic pottery and to provide new insights into ancient workshop practices, thereby impacting a diverse range of fields including materials science, chemistry, archaeology, art history and art conservation. A post-doctoral researcher supported as part of this grant will receive a uniquely integrated experience in cultural heritage, academic, and industrial laboratories, thus helping train the next generation of scientists to conduct research at the interface between science and art. In addition, integrated outreach programs will be developed to educate and inform students at all levels - and the general public - regarding how science can contribute to our understanding of one of the most important ancient civilizations in Western human history.
TECHNICAL DETAILS: The materials and methods used by ancient craftsmen to create the red- and black-figure vessels known as Attic pottery are being studied by a multidisciplinary team consisting of cultural heritage, industrial, and academic research scientists, art conservators and art historians. They are measuring the composition, morphology and chemical state distribution of iron minerals comprising the ceramic slips using the high-resolution techniques of laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS, inclusive of x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS)), x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). Correlating the data with stylistic analyses, the team are evaluating whether ancient artisans employed deliberately engineered clay compositions and/or complex kiln firing regimens. As part of this effort, they are refining a sub-100 nm XANES microscopy technique for the study of ceramic materials, providing a means of coupling chemically-specific information with micro-imaging. Once mature, this technology will be available to all users of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, thus enhancing the studies of a wide variety of heterogeneous materials.
