'Multicoloured and gilded' - the 'other side' of ancient sculpture at the NAM
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
The National Archaeological Museum's on Wednesday announced that the third presentation in its 'Open Museum' programme will be held on April 20 and will focus on the often vibrant colours and decorations that once adorned ancient statuary.
The presentation is entitled "Multicoloured and Gilded: the world of statues differently" and will explain the techniques that conservation workshops and archaeologists use to discover traces of these vanished pigments, which are often invisible to the naked eye. The now white marble statues that fill museums throughout the world were often brightly coloured in their original form, while many were adorned in gold paint. Most traces of these pigments were bleached by their long stay in the ground but modern technology has discovered non-invasive ways to find out what these were, allowing archaeologists to largely recreate an image of the statues as they once were.
The presentation, lasting roughly 30 minutes to an hour, will take place at noon and be followed by a visit to the sculpture conservation workshops.
The 'Open Museum' programme aims to acquaint the general public with the multi-sided work involved in the research, preservation, conservation and display of antiquities. The presentations are free of charge but those wishing to attend are required to obtain a ticket to enter the museum and sign up to take part at the information desk in the half hour before the presentation begins.
The programme has been running since November 2016, with a single presentation each month until June this year.
