New Discoveries about Ancient Vases

Using microscopes, ultraviolet light, and analytical instrumentation, conservators and scientists have made new discoveries about the methods and materials used by ancient Athenian artisans.

Seeing Lost Details

Oil Jar (detail) / Unknown Oil Jar (detail) (View: Under ultraviolet light)
 
 

Ultraviolet light can reveal marks that are no longer visible to the naked eye. Getty conservators studied this colorful vase, which depicts a deceased youth seated before his own funerary monument. By examining it under UV light, they found traces of shading that had originally decorated the figure's neck and shoulder, giving his body greater volume.

Studying Vase Decoration

Mixing Vessel / Euphronios
 

Close examination can also reveal how ancient vases were constructed. When conservators examined this vase under a miscroscope, they discovered that the dots on Athena's hair are not thickened black gloss, as was previously thought. Instead, they are actually pieces of clay added to the surface and then covered with black gloss.

Pigments Applied After Firing

Detail: Faded post-fired pigment
 

Conservators and scientists have also studied the characteristics of ancient pigments. We now know that some pigments in bright colors, such as red, green, blue, and pink, were applied to vases after they were fired in the kiln. These "post-fired" pigments are fragile, and were probably only applied to vases—such as this elaborate storage jar—that were not intended for everyday use. This jar would have looked much brighter when it was originally made than it does now, after centuries of being buried in a tomb.