Résumés
Although the polychromy of ancient statuary has become a regular topic in archaeological discussions, in part thanks to archaeometrical analyses, little attention has been given to such aspects in the field of epigraphy. The aim of this paper is to identify analytically the red pigments employed in inscriptions from southeastern Sicily in the Roman period (1st-6th c. CE), and to investigate the relationship between actual material practice and ancient terminology. Minimally invasive identification of cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) on some funerary and honorific inscriptions aligns with Pliny’s statement on the use of “minium”. However, other less expensive lead-containing pigments were detected, suggesting that different materials were used in different contexts and according to various practices. It appears from this preliminary study that choices of ancient red pigments can provide additional information for understanding epigraphic cultures.
Bien que la polychromie de la statuaire antique soit un sujet désormais régulièrement abordé dans les débats archéologiques, grâce notamment aux analyses archéométriques, ces aspects n’ont bénéficié que de peu d’attention dans le domaine de l’épigraphie. Le présent article a pour objet l’identification analytique des pigments rouges utilisés dans les inscriptions de la Sicile sud-orientale à l’époque romaine (ier-vie siècles de notre ère) et l’étude des relations existant entre la pratique matérielle réelle et la terminologie ancienne. L’identification très peu invasive du cinabre (sulfure de mercure) présent sur certaines inscriptions funéraires et honorifiques est conforme aux descriptions de Pline l’Ancien relatives aux usages du « minium ». Toutefois, d’autres pigments moins onéreux contenant du plomb ont été détectés, ce qui suggère que différents matériaux ont été utilisés dans différents contextes et selon des pratiques variées. Il ressort de cette étude préliminaire que les choix de pigments rouges anciens peuvent fournir des informations complémentaires facilitant la compréhension des cultures épigraphiques.
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Extrait du texte
Ce document sera publié en ligne en texte intégral en septembre 2025.
Plan
Ancient inorganic red pigments in the historical sources and in archaeometry
The recent rediscovery of the materiality of ancient inscriptions
Archaeometry of red pigments
Identification of rubrication by means of a multi-analytical, minimally invasive approach
Discussions and conclusions
Aperçu du texte
Ancient inorganic red pigments in the historical sources and in archaeometry
The comparison of surviving texts on pigment manufacture and use in Antiquity with accurate chemical, molecular and mineralogical data from archaeological finds is not always straightforward. Becker has recently discussed in detail the pigment nomenclature in Greece and Rome as presented in ancient sources, particularly Theophrastus in the 4th-3rd centuries BC, Vitruvius in the 1st century BC, Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides in the 1st century CE. In fact, the general palette (in terms of substances) available in Antiquity has been defined and cross-checked with the ancient sources, revealing categories and perceptions that do not always correspond to current understanding of materials and practices. Essential as this work is, it highlights the fact that, without a correct identification of compounds on analytical bases, an accurate understanding of ancient practices as represented in the literary sources ca...
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Référence papier
Alessia Coccato, Germana Barone, Paolo Mazzoleni et Jonathan Prag, « Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals », Technè, 57 | 2024, 38-47.
Référence électronique
Alessia Coccato, Germana Barone, Paolo Mazzoleni et Jonathan Prag, « Initial investigations of rubricated inscriptions from Roman Sicily: Comparing the material evidence with ancient writers’ ideals », Technè [En ligne], 57 | 2024, mis en ligne le 26 septembre 2025, consulté le 14 décembre 2024. URL : http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/techne/22202 ; DOI : https://0-doi-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/10.4000/12cw2
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Auteurs
Research Associate in Petrography, Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (alessia.coccato[at]classics.ox.ac.uk).
Professor in Applied Geology, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Italy (germana.barone[at]unict.it).
Professor in Applied Geology, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Italy (paolo.mazzoleni[at]unict.it).
Professor of Ancient History, Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (jonathan.prag[at]merton.ox.ac.uk).
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