A re-united pair: The conservation, technical study, and ethical decisions involved in exhibiting two terracotta orante statues from Canosa

Abstract

The collection of the Worcester Art Museum includes two rare Magna Graecia terracotta funerary statues from Canosa, Italy dating to the third century BCE. Each depicts a female figure in prayer or lament known as an orante. The orantes were purchased by the museum in 1927, but shortly thereafter were separated. One was left in storage for nearly seven decades and the other was sold, and ultimately entered a private collection halfway around the world. The orantes were recently reunited under serendipitous circumstances and, after more than 80 years, will finally be placed on display at the Museum. As part of a comprehensive treatment, a technical study was carried out to identify the materials and methods used in their manufacture and in previous restoration campaigns. Materials were characterized by cross-section analysis, spot tests, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), neutron activation analysis (NAA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermoluminescence (TL) dating, and reflectance transformation imaging (RTI). The analytical findings helped inform the conservation treatments, which included structural work, surface cleaning using a Nd:YAG laser, and esthetic reintegration.

Keywords:

• Orante
• Nd:YAG laser
• Terracotta
• Canosa
• Magna Graecia
• Funerary statue

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend thanks to the many people that made this collaborative project possible especially the following: Dr Christine Kondoleon, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Paula Artal-Isbrand and Rita, Albertson, Worcester Art Museum; Dr. Florent Heintz, Sotheby's New York and Henry Lie, Anthony Sigel and Jens Stenger at the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museums. Many thanks also to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works for making this work possible.