Pages: 141-158 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp254141158
The collections of many museums include various terracotta figurines and plastic vessels acquired in the second half of the 19th century by museums or private collectors from Kerch antique dealers, for example, E.R. Zaporozhskiy. These figurines were composed of fragments of authentic objects from different periods and supplemented with clay, plaster, and other materials to give them a solid, marketable form. Traditionally, in museums, they are considered fake and are not of interest to researchers. The article examines several terracotta figurines and plastic vessels of “Roman times” from the collection of the State Historical Museum (SHM, Moscow), which were purchased from E.R. Zaporozhskiy or entered the collection of V.I. Sizov in the 1880s—1890s. The National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” carried out an X-ray tomographic study of these terracotta pieces, including the creation of 3D models of structural elements, which made it possible to identify all the genuine antique details and later inclusions clearly. As a result of the research, these objects can be considered not only as examples of forgery of the 19th century, but also as a set of authentic fragments of terracotta figurines and vessels of the first centuries AD.
Keywords: terracotta figurines, plastic vessels, collecting, pastiches, fakes, X-ray tomography, Roman period
Information about authors:
Denis Zhuravlev (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. State Historical Museum. Red Square, 1, Moscow, 109012, Russian Federation; National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-1139-6621
Polina Guryeva (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate in Physics and Mathematics. National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-8239-778Х
Ekaterina Kovalenko (Moscow, Russian Federation). National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-0496-8129
Elena Tereschenko (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate in Physics and Mathematics. National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-5035-6978
Ekaterina Yatsishina (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Academician Kurchatov Sq., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-7652-7253