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The Limestone Sculpture Provenance Project: A Case Study
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This case study draws art historical research and information from the Limestone Sculpture Provenance Project database, a new research tool for art historians and curators that helps them determine the origin of sculptures removed from their original sites long ago. The database contains information about more than 2,100 samples of stone from monuments, sculptures, and quarries. Many of the limestone sculptures in the exhibition "Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture" have been analyzed and documented in the database. The four sculptures in this case study presented especially significant results. By exploring these sculptures from Notre-Dame of Paris and Amiens Cathedral, you will learn how the results of neutron activation analysis (NAA) helped determine the provenance of these striking works of art.
Look closely at and compare the images of the four heads in this case study. Three come from Notre-Dame, Paris, and one from Amiens. Although the heads now determined to be from Paris vary greatly in terms of wear and damage, they are related in terms of style and carving technique. An interactive graph reveals how trace elements in the sculptures' limestone have assisted scholars in determining their origin.
Images (left to right): Head of King David, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1938 (38.180); Head of an Angel, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Michel David-Weill Gift, 1990 (1990.132); Head of an Apostle, The Art Institute of Chicago, Kate S. Buckingham Endowment (1944.413); Head of Christ or an Apostle, Private collection
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