Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 102-103. (Budapest, 2005)

MARIANNA DÁGI - MÁRIA TÓTH: A Small Portrait Head of Augustus: Archeometrical Investigations

A SMALL PORTRAIT HEAD OF AUGUSTUS ARCHAEOMETRICAL INVESTIGATIONS MARIANNA DÁGI - MÁRIA TÓTH In 1998, the Department of Classical Antiquities of the Museum of Fine Arts acquired a small portrait head of Augustus (figs. 11-13).

1 At first the piece was thought to be of faience, based on its bluish green colour, but further and more careful examination led to the exclusion of that possibility. It turned out that the colour is not merely that of a surface coating, but can also be seen well inside the head, along the line where it was broken off towards the bottom of the face.

2 That is to say, the material of which the portrait-head is made was blue-green through and through. Scientific tests were therefore carried out at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences' Institute for Geochemical Research to determine the exact character of the stone-like, somewhat lustrous soapy material from which the head was made. THE RESULTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC EXAMINATION OF THE HEAD "Das Köpfchen aus feinkörnigem, porösem, grünem Glasähnlichen Material besitzt im jetzigen, stark fragmentierten Zustand noch eine Höhe von 4,72 cm [...]. Die Oberfläche des Kopfes ist auf fast allen Seiten stark in Mitleidenschaft genommen: Sie ist dort, wo einst die grüne Außenschicht des Glasflusses die Epidermis und die Haare bildete, stark verrieben, an vielen Stellen ist sie sogar abgeplatzt und läßt das Material des Portrait-Kernes (kristallisierte Fritte?) erkennen."

3 To Hans Rupprecht Goette's concise description, the following observations can be added. On the surface of the head, clayey and sandy deposits can be seen. Remains of glue used during previous conservations can also be detected.

4 The surface of the object is