Posted on 04/07/2011 8:03:30 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Attic pottery is the iconic red and black figure-pottery produced in ancient Greece from the 6th to the 4th centuries B.C. Like the vessel shown above from the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, such pottery required immense precision to produce, and the means by which craftsman created these vessels is still not completely understood...
From their study of the makeup of this iconic pottery, the researchers hope to further current conservation practice and future space travel... the grant team is working with conservators and curators from the J. Paul Getty Museum to attribute characteristic material "signatures" to known artists, which should aid the classification of unsigned works. The information will provide a deeper understanding of ancient pottery techniques and inform future conservation methods.
Of importance to aerospace industries, the effort will also create a deeper knowledge of iron-spinel chemistry, which is critical for advanced ceramics found in aerospace applications...
One primary scientific technique the researchers are using is X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, a tool for determining the iron oxidation states in the Attic pottery, which gives the pottery its iconic black and red coloring.
The researchers will also use X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analyses to provide information on the molecular structure of the iron minerals, and high resolution digital microscopy to study the surface of the works, among other analytical methods.
(Excerpt) Read more at physorg.com ...
Attic black-figure amphora (JPGM 88.AE.24, 530 -- 520 B.C.) Herakles Attacking a Centaur. Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum
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