A team of objects and paintings conservators in the Brooklyn Museum Conservation Lab have been worki

A team of objects and paintings conservators in the Brooklyn Museum Conservation Lab have been working to carefully analyze and document the six Romano-Egyptian funerary portraits in the Brooklyn Museum collection. This work is part of the larger APPEAR project, spearheaded by conservator Marie Svoboda at the Getty Villa. Over two dozen museums are participating in the project, which involves sharing findings in a collaborative database for comparison and study.Part of this project involves multiband imaging techniques which give us insight into original and restoration materials. Additionally, we have used reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) on the portraits to image their surface topography. A variety of different painting techniques were used to create the six mummy portraits in the BKM collection. RTI has proved to be invaluable when looking at the portraits created with the encaustic technique. Encaustic painting involves mixing colored pigments with a wax binder. The technique requires a high level of skill and experience to create a detailed likeness such as this portrait of a Noblewoman.In the video at the top, the RTI shows us individual tool marks, giving us a better idea of how the wax paint medium was applied. The marks on the surface are varied, suggesting a range of brushes and small tools were used such as curved spatulas and styli with rounded tips. In several passages, such as on the face and the mantle, the paint was further manipulated on the surface using a warm spatula after it was applied, as you can see in the photo below.The RTI technique involves the use of a software that allows us to also view the image in what is called “specular enhancement” mode, as seen in the video below. This enhances the reflectance and allows us to more easily see the surface topography. We are continuing to investigate the wide range of materials and techniques used to create these portraits, and look forward to sharing these findings in future posts and on the APPEAR database.Posted by Dawn Kriss and Lauren Bradley -- source link

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