Spotlight: The Modern Invention of Ancient White Marble

Archaeologists Vinzenz and Ulrike Koch Brinkmann reflect on how reconstructing the former color of an ancient Roman bust can help us better understand history.
This article is part of Spotlight, a series that features new perspectives on a single work from The Met collection.

Archaeologists Vinzenz and Ulrike Koch Brinkmann have spent the last 40 years dedicated to the study of polychromy—or “many colors” in Greek—in ancient sculpture. Once a fringe area of study, their research combats the misconception of white purity in ancient Greece and Rome. They reflect on the marble bust of Caligula and how the reconstruction of its former color can help us better understand history.


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