Csornay Boldizsár - Dobos Zsuzsa - Varga Ágota - Zakariás János szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 99. (Budapest, 2003)

DÁGI, MARIANNA: 'Tinkers' and 'Patchers': Some Notes on the Ancient Repairs of Greek Vases

of different materials leave different toolmarks.

30 The pattern on the hole wall depends on the material and the evenness of the edge of the bits: the steel bits give more regular and even grooves than bits made of other materials, such as the bronze or stone bits used in ancient times.

31 In the light of the conclusions written above we should modify the criteria of dating the drill holes. If there are no traces of the repairing material or remains of it in the holes or around it, any traces having a possible connection to mending must be taken into consideration together, not only the shape of the drill holes. The position, form (cylindrical or sunk), shape (circular or non-circular, straight-walled or not), the damage on the edge, and the toolmarks on the profiles (which may be decisive) of the drill holes should give an indication together. With the aid of these criteria it is possible to date the drill hole to ancient or recent times with high probability More precise dating seems impossible at the moment. With the aforementioned criteria it became possible to distinguish the postAntique repairs on the vases of the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Based on the metal pins and glue remains in the holes on three vases of our Collection, we can identify the modern way of the technique using drill holes and pins, known from ancient cup feet. The same technique was used to fix the completion of the handle in a bucchero kantharos from the Wartha collection (no. 3) and in a South Italian red-figure epichysis dated to 350-300 BC (no. 13). Blind holes were drilled into the handle parts and pins were inserted into the holes and were reinforced also with glue. This resulted in a more secure fixing than simply sticking the broken parts together. The function of the wire in the spout of the epychysis is not clear - perhaps the conservator used it to strengthen the plaster complement.

32 An Attic black-figure lekythos, probably from the Haimon workshop, was completed with plaster on the handle and the neck (no. 8). The cup of the lekythos was detached along the fittings and exposed the copper pin inserted in the complement with one end into the blind hole made in the break of the handle join. The most obvious example of a modern repairing method known from Antiquity is a big storage jar from Egypt.

33 The parts of the broken jar were stuck together, and then it was wired through a number of drilled holes

34 to strengthen the sticking. The joins were covered with plaster painted brown, similarly to the colour of the jar. The use of iron wire and the position of the wire over the plaster are clear evidence of modern restoration (fig. 8). Three other fragments of the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities - each from the Antal Haan collection (nos. 6,7,11)- inevitably lead to a further question: 30 The material of the bit could change according to the material to be drilled. We may assume bits of reed, stone, copper and bronze too. Shaw, op.cit. (n. 23) 70. 31 See Gwinnet - Gorelick 1983, 382, fig. 11. 32 An Etruscan askos was restored on a similar way in the 19

th century. See Appunti di restauro (ed. Cygielman, M.), Firenze 1998, 219, pl. VIII/2. 33 Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, inv. no. 51.2059. From the Graeco-Roman period. (Many thanks to Gábor Schreiber for this information.) H.: 90 cm, unknown provenance. I am very grateful to István Nagy, the director of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities, who made my examination of the artefact possible, and also to Irén Vozil for her generous help. 34 The holes are ca. 3 mm in diameter; some of them are sunk holes.