Project description
A closer look at the history of colour
In the ancient world, polychromy, the art of painting in several colours, was an inherent part of sculpture and architecture. However, the use of colours in Roman statues is understudied. The EU-funded PolyCRomA project will explore the meaning of Roman imperial statues' polychromy in proconsular Africa through the Bardo National Museum collection in Tunisia. This will be the first systematic study of the use of colour in the statuary of an important imperial province. The project will use multispectral imaging and UV and VIL videomicroscope and in situ analyses to identify the techniques used. It will also review the typology, quality and provenance of the more than 100 coloured statues in the corpus constituting a significant mirror of the African society. The meaning of polychromy will be analysed in relation to the socio-political and religious purpose with which these artefacts were conceived.
Objective
Long neglected, the polychromy of ancient statues has been increasingly studied during the last 20 years with a multidisciplinary cooperation between humanities and natural sciences. If the use of colour seems omnipresent in Greek statues with an illusionistic aim, the phenomenon is not only understudied in Roman statues but also more ambiguous: the fashion for copying Greek statues seems to develop the taste for marble and the socio-political value of the statues could be reflected in the use of colour.
This action explores the meaning of Roman Imperial statues polychromy in Proconsular Africa though the Bardo museum collection in Tunisia, proposing the first systematic study of the use of colour in the statuary of an important Imperial province. The variety of typology, quality and provenance (local, Asia Minor, Rome workshops) of the more than 100 coloured statues in the corpus offers a significant mirror of the African society. Moreover, as the archaeological context of
discovery is well known, the meaning of the polychromy will be analysed in relation with the socio-political and religious purpose with which these artefacts were conceived.
The preserved traces of colour will first be documented by coupling visual investigation (by the support of multispectral imaging and UV and VIL videomicroscope) and in-situ analyses (XRF and µRaman) in order to identify the techniques used to colour the statues. Selected micro-samples will undergo further quantitative analyses (PIXE, SEM/EDX, hyperspectral imaging, FT-IR). Finally literary and epigraphic sources of Proconsular Africa mentioning the colour of statues will be inventoried and the use of colour on the statues will be compared with their counterparts in painting and mosaic.
The overall evaluation of the data will go beyond the scope of the province and will reach wider conclusions on the variations in the use of colour and its meaning, contributing to the history of colour and the modern perception of Roman art.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering colors
- humanities arts visual arts
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
4000 LIEGE
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.