Theme Organiser: Dr St John Simpson

Location: B.P Lecture Theatre, Clore Centre, The British Museum.

This session includes papers exploring the inter-relationships between colour and light. Papers include the association and symbolism of colour for certain types of object or representations; colour schemes in art and architecture; pigments, dyes and their sources; the impact of light on the organisation of space; and the visibility, degradation or disappearance of colour.

Please note that this is not a final time-table and may be subject to some change.If you wish to make any corrections, please use this form: CORRECTIONS FORM

As stated in your acceptance email, papers should be no more than 20 minutes long

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
09.30 › Introduction	09:20 › Zanon	09:20 › Getzel
	09:55 › Keneda	09:55 › Quenet
	10:20 › Camurcuoglu	10:20 › Ornan
	10:45 › COFFEE	10:45 › COFFEE
	11:15 › Pinnock	11:15 › Soldi
	11:40 › Ludovico	11:40 › Negro Ponzi
12:15 › Keynote	12:05 › Pizzimenti	12:05 › Ben-Shlomo
	12:30 › Poli	12:30 › Bridgman
	12:55 › LUNCH	12:55 › LUNCH
13:15 › LUNCH	14:00 › Afhami
14:30 › Meijer	14:30 › Nagel
14:55 › Yatsenko	14:55 › Hennessy
15:20 › Kidd	15:20 › Arce
15:45 › COFFEE	15:45 › COFFEE	15:45 › COFFEE
16:15 › Verri	16:15 › Becker
16:40 › Affanni	16:40 › Jung
17:05 › Simpson	17:05 › Rugiadi
18:45 › BM Reception

Colour & Light Abstracts

Plenary Session: Colour & Light Keynote Lecture

Divine Light, Lustre and Gold in Ancient Mesopotamian Art
Professor Irene J. Winter (Harvard University, Emerita)

Texts speak eloquently to the property of light and shine as a positive element of works produced as what we would term 'art' in ancient Mesopotamia. Less examined has been what the properties of gold in particular encode for experience and meaning of the works themselves. I plan to look specifically at headgear and personal ornament as vehicles for imbuing the body with properties beyond those associated with the mere material value of the gold as a medium of elite production and consumption. In the course of this investigation I anticipate that the light-bearing properties of the material will carry significance as well as the immutability of the material and the overall cost of the metal as the result of long distance trade and foreign exchange. I will concentrate upon the assemblages of the Royal Cemetery of Ur, in the Early Dynastic Period, Tomb 45 at Assur, of the Middle Assyrian Period, and the Queens' Tombs of the Northwest Palace at Nimrud, of the Neo-Assyrian Period, representing the third, second and first millennium respectively.

New light (and colour) on Arslan Tash ivories: studying first millennium BC ivories
Mr Giorgio Affanni(Dipartimento di Scienze Antropologiche, Archeologiche, Storico Territoriali – Università di Torino)

In 1928 the French archaeological mission excavations directed at Arslan Tash by F. Thureau-Dangin discovered a collection of fine ivories in the appropriately named "Bâtiment aux ivories". This collection is now shared between the Musée du Louvre and the Archaeological Museum of Alep. An international team is currently engaged in a joint project of study and publication of these Arslan Tash ivories, the speaker being responsible for their stylistic analysis. This paper will return to the issue of first millennium BC ivories and firstly present the methods and preliminary results of the research on their carving and decoration, which are one of the factors for the identification of stylistic-technical groups. In addition, particular care is devoted to the chromatic decoration treatment of the ivories.

Colour and light in the architecture of Persepolis
Mr Kourosh Afhami (Dusseldorf)

Not only do colour and light have an essential impact on how architecture takes effect but they breathe life to architecture. There is no architecture without light or without interaction between light and shadow. The most sophisticated exhibition of light and shadow in Iranian architecture may be found in the stalactites of ivans in the Islamic era and the composition of colours in Iranian architecture reached its perfection in the sacral buildings of the seventeenth century. Yet this virtuous handling of light and colour has a long development history in Iran which goes back to the Achaemenid era. Achaemenid palaces such as those in Persepolis and Susa were each built for representative purposes. What has remained today of the colour of Achaemenid architecture is diverse and cheerful. Although some observations on Achaemenid colours and paintings were done by F. Krefter, E. Herzfeld, E. Schmidt, J. Lerner, A.B. Tilia and Shahrokh Razmjou, the research of the colour schemes topic at Persepolis was not continuous. But pursuing and completing this research is very necessary in order to obtain final and honest results. Incorporating the existing knowledge of colours is an essential part of the virtual reconstruction of Persepolis by the Persepolis3D.com team. In July 2006, in a joint effort between Persepolis3D.com and the Historical Museum of Palatinate, Germany, an original scale model of a column capital of the Apadana was presented which showed the possible colour schemes of the capital. In June 2007, that colour concept was further developed in co-operation with the British Museum. This collaboration also led to partial integration of colours of the Apadana stair reliefs in a virtual reconstruction of Persepolis which is currently displayed in the Rahim Irvani Gallery for Ancient Iran at the British Museum. This presentation will briefly discuss on what the reconstructed colours are based, what is known and evidenced, what is awaiting validation, and what is pending investigation. Additionally, the inter-relationship of light and column capitals as an architectural concept will be addressed.

Painted Parthian stuccoes from southern Iraq
Dr St John Simpson, Dr Janet Ambers, Dr Giovanni Verri, Dr Thibaut Deviese, Dr Jo Kirby Arkinson (The British Museum, UK)

The use of carved stucco (gypsum plaster) decoration on buildings became popular in Mesopotamia and Iran from the first century onwards, and combined classical and Near Eastern motifs. The designs were either cut in wet stucco or formed in moulds and were painted in bright colours. An important group of decorative stuccoes was excavated in the nineteenth century by W.K. Loftus at a Parthian house in Uruk, are registered in the British Museum and retain their original colours. Although the work of Loftus has been well researched, the findspot re-identified and the composition of the plaster has been analysed, the pigments themselves have not received attention until recently. They were analysed within the Department of Conservation & Scientific Research at the British Museum in 2006 in preparation for a display of a selection within the new Rahim Irvani Gallery for Ancient Iran. Carbon, hematite (the main chromophore of red ochre), goethite (the main chromophore of yellow ochre), vermilion and madder were found on decorated surfaces. Work continues on the exact nature of the madder, and to identify an elusive bright green component. This paper will be the first detailed scientific publication of the pigments and colour schemes.

Aestheticising politics, politicising aesthetics: colour and light in architecture at Qasr al-Hallabat (Jordan) from Late Antiquity to the Umayyad period
Dr Ignacio Arce (Spanish Archaeological Mission to Jordan)

The ongoing research on Qasr al-Hallabat (Jordan) has provided extensive evidence of the transformation of this former Roman Tetrarchic Quadriburgium into a palatine and monastic complex in the sixth century prior to its final refurbishment into an Umayyad qasr in the seventh-eighth centuries, and before its ultimate destruction and abandonment. The detailed analysis on the material evidence has provided not only an accurate sequence of uses, building activities and of the related building techniques employed, but also of the decorative linings and their patterns (mural paintings, carved stucco, marble linings, floor mosaics, etc) as well as of the illumination provided by means of both natural lighting and lamps. This detailed analysis has been carried out diachronically linking the change of use and the related architectural linings and their illumination, to the transformation of use that took place from Late Antiquity to Umayyad period, in each different section of the complex. The study conducted includes the study of the colour patterns of the glass covered grills and civas-framed windows, as well as the influence of this light (combined with artificial sources), on the different applied decoration of walls and floors by means of a 3-D reconstruction which offers a complete and comprehensive appearance of the different rooms in these two successive periods. In addition to the better known decoration techniques and patterns from the Umayyad period (of which new relevant information has been retrieved from the analysis), the information gained on the sixth century patterns of decoration (associated with the Ghassanid patronage of this combined palatine and monastic complex), provides relevant new information about this transitional period. The research conducted on regional level has demonstrated the recurrent presence of some of these features in complexes and monasteries related to the Ghassanid presence in the Hawran and Balqa regions. Furthermore, the influence of South Arabian culture brought by the Ghassanids from the Yemenite highlands from where they emigrated to the Levant in the fifth century in the decoration displayed in these monastic and palatine venues, raises the hypothesis of the pursuit of a visual culture of their own by the Ghassanid phylarchs, claiming their Arab cultural roots as "Basileus" and "Archiphylarchs" of the Arab foederati. The political and religious significance of the message conveyed to the observer of these recreated ambiences offers a unique opportunity for discussion on the role of Arab elites in their pursuit of power in the periods of Late Antiquity and Early Islam.

Colour and light in Early Abbasid palaces: interior decoration for Harun ar-Rashid
Dr Andrea Becker (Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin)

Among a wealth of finds discovered during the excavations of the German Archaeological Institute at the early Islamic sites of ar-Raqqa in northern Syria and Madinat al-Far / Hisn Maslama (University of Copenhagen) were not only large assemblages of glass vessels but also luxurious architectural decoration made of glass. The most extraordinary impression must have been achieved by extravagant glass-covered floors, while rooms illuminated by windows with small coloured panes produced interesting light effects. Additionally furnished with splendid stucco friezes and set with the finest glass vessels these rooms must have had an enormous effect on any visitor.

From various literary sources we learn directly or indirectly about the settings of early Abbasid palace rooms, about carpets, curtains, veils, cushions etc. But what did the rooms and halls actually look like in terms of the archaeological excavation results? Is there archaeological evidence for the interior decoration of the palaces?

In this paper some of the rich finds from ar-Raqqa and Hisn Maslama shall be presented. Firstly, glass vessels for various purposes are considered under aspects of their colour, function and their combination in the respective rooms or palace units. Although the Abbasid court left ar-Raqqa in 809 (AH 193), many of the former household goods were left behind so it is possible to reconstruct, to some extent, the original function of the rooms as well as their inventory. Secondly, the presentation of the official rooms in these residences can be studied, where not only stucco and glass was used but also wood carvings, murals and even floor painting. The interaction of colour and light in this architectural decoration and the combination of the various materials used in the furnishings give an idea of what the Raqqa palaces looked like and how they functioned.

Computerized rendering of painted decoration on pottery
Dr David Ben-Shlomo (The Weizmann Institute of Science/ Physics of Complex Systems) Avshalom Karasik (Department of Physics of Complex Systems, The Weizmann Institute of Science) and Uzy Smilansky (The Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University)

Painted decoration on pottery is one of its most significant components in relation to archaeological research and interpretation. The contents, style and technique of the decoration can reflect cultural or ethnic aspects of the society consuming the pottery, as well as interactions between various potters' workshops. In some cases of a specific pottery decoration, the style or 'ware' of the decoration can be the primary classification factor discussed in archaeological research. So far the archaeological documentation of colour decoration on pottery has been made manually by copying the designs from the vessel to a drawing. This method is time consuming, inaccurate and has limited ability to faithfully document the more complex decoration painted on a curved surface (the pottery vessel) on a flat surface (the drawing). Very few studies tackle the issue of computerised analysis of painted decoration on archaeological artifacts. This paper describes a new method of computerised rendering and documenting of colour painted decoration on ancient pottery vessels and sherds that can resolve these problems. The documentation employs a three dimensional scanning of the vessel's geometry and texture (surface colour). The scanning of the vessel enables the morphology of the vessel to be expressed mathematically, and the vessel is accurately positioned according to its rotation axis. Thence, various geometrical projections, which are used in cartography, can be automatically and accurately employed to obtain the desired two dimensional viewing and documentation of the vessel and the colour decoration painted on it. This output can be automatically incorporated together with the final drawing of the vessel in the final publication. Several archaeological examples are presented and discussed.

Experiencing Lustre Wares: analysis and interpretation using digital technology
Dr Rebecca Bridgman (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) and Dr Graeme EARL (Archaeology, School of Humanities, University of Southampton)

The surfaces of lustre ware ceramics and tiles, famously produced at numerous centres in the Medieval World, are commonly decorated with shiny metallic designs. This decoration was achieved by painting a solution of metal oxides onto a glazed ceramic surface which following firing resulted in a design which shines and shimmers in the light. In today's museum settings, display of lustred objects is potentially problematic because it is difficult to illustrate one of their most attractive qualities, namely how light interacts with their lustred surfaces. Even with the provision of multiple conventional photographs on the internet, it is virtually impossible to experience the light related properties of lustre ware ceramics without handling the objects in person.

This paper will present results of a study which will use the latest digital technology to present lustre wares selected from the Islamic pottery collection at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. This innovative technology employs photographic techniques including polynomial texture mapping (or PTM) and photogrammetric scanning to record the texture, surface reflectance and colour of lustred objects. In addition, the paper considers how computer graphic techniques will assist such work in the future. Results of the study will allow the creation of models, which will reveal the effects of varying lighting on the surface of lustre wares, thus creating an alternative to handling the object. Through this technique it will be possible, not only to appreciate lustre objects in their modern setting, but also to consider how they may have been experienced by past societies.

Colourful technologies: a technical study of the colours on Çatalhöyük wall paintings
Ms Duygu Camurcuoglu (The British Museum)

This research project focuses on the study of the wall paintings from the 9000 year-old Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük, which reveal some of the richest data on Neolithic art and symbolism in the world. The Çatalhöyük wall paintings are globally significant for our understanding of the development of Neolithic technology, art and symbolism in Anatolia and the Near East, as no other examples are known of a similar scale. Previous interpretations of the wall art at Çatalhöyük have been based entirely on iconography and what they symbolise within the society (Last 1998; Meece 2006; Hodder 2007). However, the technological processes through which the wall art were created (the art production), have never had enough attention from the scholars. Moreover, since the iconography (decoration) is dictated by the social/cultural values and is a part of the technical make up of the actual production process, it cannot be seen in isolation from technology (Gell 1998). The wall painting technology – the materials, the way that they interact with each other, the tools and techniques – have never been studied closely or systematically within the broader technological and social context.

This research therefore aims to study the technological aspects of pigments and plaster technology, colour symbolism on art, iconography and the ritual contexts (i.e. burials) during the Neolithic era (particularly PPNB, 9600-8000 cal. BC) with reference to Çatalhöyük. The study of the materials, techniques, defining tools and distribution of the paintings as well as on-site observations/experiments of the material will be used to create a consistent and systematic body of data which will be clear and informative enough to be used, consulted and questioned by researchers both in the fields of archaeology and conservation.

Gell, A., 1998. Art and Agency. An Anthropological Theory. Oxford.
Hodder, I., 2007. 'Catalhoyuk in the context of the Middle Eastern Neolithic', Annual Review of Anthropology 36: 105-120.
Last, J., 1998. 'A Design for Life: Interpreting the Art of Catalhoyuk', Journal of Material Culture 3/3: 355-378.
Meece, S., 2006. 'A bird's eye view of leopard's spots: The Catalhoyuk map and the development of cartographic representation in prehistory', Anatolian Studies 56: 1-16.

Red, Black, and Lustrous: Kura–Araks Pottery as Sensory Experience
Mrs Alina Getzel (Tel Aviv University)

Despite its huge geographical extent from the Iranian plateau to the Jordan Valley the Kura–Araks pottery tradition maintains certain priorities in all of its regional variants: an emphasis on colour, lustre (reflection of light), and decoration (incised, bossed or painted) at the expense of all else (e.g. durability, symmetry or storage capacity). In all its variants (including Karaz, Red-Black Burnished and Khirbet Kerak wares), the ware is never industrialised or commodotised; each vessel maintains its individuality while sharing the main qualities of its tradition.

In this paper I will review the regional and – where possible –temporal variations in the use of colour and polish in the Kura–Araks tradition. Building on the typological and technological work of Sagona (1984), Palumbi (2003), Greenberg (2007) and Iserlis (2009), I will examine the ways in which the enhanced visual and tactile properties of the pottery communicate values that would have been of significance to the far–flung diaspora of the producers and users of pottery made in the Kura–Araks tradition. Khirbet Kerak Ware assemblages from Tel Bet Yerah, Tel Yaqush and Tel Bet Shean, which offer the most marked contrast to local ceramic values in the Jordan Valley, will serve as an excellent entry point into the comparative discussion.

Greenberg, R., 2007. 'Transcaucasian Colors: Khirbet Kerak Ware at Khirbet Kerak (Tel Bet Yerah)', Les Cultures du Caucase (VI-III millenaires avant notre ere) (Lyonnet, B., ed.), 257-68. Paris. Iserlis, M., 2009. 'Khirbet Kerak Ware at Bet Yerah: Segregation and Integration through Technology', Tel Aviv 36: 181-95. Palumbi, G., 2003. 'Red-Black Pottery: Eastern Anatolian and Transcaucasian Relationships around the Mid-Fourth Millennium BC', ANES 40: 80-134. Sagona, A.G., 1984. The Caucasian Region in the Early Bronze Age. Oxford; BAR International Series 214.

The Chapel of Saint Jacob at the Church of the Theotokos Chalkoprateia in Istanbul
Dr Cecily Hennessy (Christies Education)

An octagonal structure, now beneath the a hotel in Istanbul, has been identified as both a baptistery and the chapel of Saint Jacob which is recorded in the Patria as being built by the Byzantine emperor Justin II (565–578) and his wife Sophia and is also described by a twelfth century English pilgrim. In 1953, Cyril Mango, who considers it to be the chapel, was able to measure the building and to photograph two then-visible fragments of paintings which he dated to the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century. In publishing these, he noted that "these fragments have since disappeared" (Mango 1970: 370), a view since reiterated by others. However, the paintings are still extant along with others apparently not visible to Mango at that time. Mango identified a scene of the Annunciation, which included the three magi, and one of the Slaying of Zachariah. He suggested that the cycle of paintings treated the Infancy of Christ with apocryphal additions concerning Elizabeth and Zechariah. It is probable that scenes also related to the life of Saint Jacob, the brother of Christ, who was said to have written the apocryphal Protoevangelion of James, of which no illustrated versions survive. This paper considers the remaining extant paintings in the chapel in Istanbul, the use of colour and light to illuminate the paintings in an unlit crypt and the relation of the building to the Church of the Theotokos, a very large and magnificent basilica built with imperial patronage in the fifth century and one of the most important churches in the city.

Mango, C., 1970. 'Notes on Byzantine Monuments', Dumbarton Oaks Papers 23: 369–72.

Techniques and pigments used for the wall paintings of the Masĝid-i Ğum‘a at Isfahan
Dr Michael Jung (Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale Roma) Dr Claudio Seccaroni (ENEA - Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development)

Among the findings made within the Friday Mosque at Isfahan during the IsMEO excavations during the 1970s under the direction of the late Umberto Scerrato were different fragments of wall paintings. Their discovery and documentation had been already presented at an exhibition in Tehran (2005) and at the 6ICAANE meeting at Rome (2008) where within the framework of a larger presentation of the Joint Iranian-Italian ADAMJI Project, both directed by Prof. Bruno Genito and Faribah Saiedi Anaraki (ICHTHO), various other materials were also presented. The checking of the wall paintings and their inventory has now made it possible to draw a first preliminary typological subdivision.

The paintings can be divided into different groups based on stylistic, chromatic and technical grounds. They all seem to belong to the pre-Seljuk period and are among the most ancient Iranian wall paintings of the Islamic period to survive. Samples of the paintings were taken for analysis in Italy with the agreement of the Iranian authorities and in order to obtain information about the composition of pigments used, the plaster and the general state of preservation. The diagnosis should also determine the nature of the techniques used by the original painters. In order to preserve samples, it has been decided to investigate them only using non-destructive techniques, at least in the first instance. Twelve samples from different typologies of the recognised decoration have been selected and examined through XRF analysis. Their dimensions also allowed investigating them by the scanning electron microscope. In this case, for conservation reasons, no sputter coatings have been applied. The plaster is actually clay with a thin layer of gypsum generally on the surface. The identified palette consists of lead white, lapis lazuli, cinnabar, iron-based pigments and gold. Such a palette perfectly agrees with the recognised palettes of pre-Islamic monuments in the Central Asia described in scientific literature. Moreover, beside these pigments, the presence of arsenic has been detected on the white ground of three samples and this data needs further detailed investigation in order to better characterise the pigment.

Building Construction at Tell Sabi Abyad: doorways and accessibility
Ms Akemi Keneda(Leiden University)

Late Neolithic communities in Upper Mesopotamia inhabited buildings characterized by fairly small, narrow and isolated rooms, only accessible by a limited-sized doorway or through an opening in the roof. The rooms must have been quite dark and difficult to access although the building itself was constructed in a reasonable size on a proper way. This raises several intriguing questions. Why did people build a house which was hard to access and did not admit light? Why was the house divided in numbers of small rooms instead of several large rooms? I shall explore the living conditions of the Late Neolithic community on the basis of the building remains excavated at Tell Sabi Abyad, a prehistoric site in northern Syria. I argue that the various architectural remains exposed during the excavations may offer new insights on the role of light as part of the broader organisation of space, and on the functional and symbolic meanings of light. The spatial relationship between brightness and darkness will have influenced either social or functional divisions.

My analysis is principally concerned with the interpretation of architectural remains and domestic buildings from the Late Neolithic period ca. 6800-6000 BC, also known as the Initial Pottery Neolithic and Pre-Halaf Period. I discuss the building techniques and the materials used, with special attention to the evidence for entrances and windows that relate to the accessibility of the buildings, such as the characteristic porthole doorways that are regularly exposed during the excavations.

Colour and light in pre-Islamic Iranian mural art
Dr Fiona Kidd (University of Sydney)

The significance of colour in non-verbal communication is generally accepted by many scholars yet very few studies take colour as a primary category of inquiry in archaeological research, perhaps not least because of the quality and quantity of the evidence. The Kazakly-yatkan wall paintings offer a unique opportunity to explore aspects of colour and light in the art and architecture of the pre-Islamic Iranian world because they present a contextualised and diverse corpus of mural art. Dating to the mid-first century BC, the paintings have been found across a monumental building complex at the fortified site of Kazakly-yatkan in ancient Chorasmia (modern Uzbekistan). There is a remarkable range of imagery in the paintings, which includes figurative images such as portraits and various other fragments showing people, as well as clearly ornamental fragments. Recent research has highlighted the ambiguity of colour symbolism in specific areas of the building complex – notably transitional or circulation spaces. However, a broader view of the nature of the spaces throughout the building and the colours found in these spaces provides an alternate approach to the vexed question of colour symbolism and function at Kazakly-yatkan. By comparing the evidence of colour in the various spaces of the building complex, this paper will explore the extent to which colour can act as a primary category of inquiry in archaeological research.

Roofs and Light in Mesopotamian Temples
Dr Diederik Meijer (Leiden University)

The problem of the shape of the roofs of Mesopotamian temples is difficult to resolve. Questions of whether there was clerestory lighting or not, what shapes the possible windows had, the possible raised roof over the central room of tripartite temples, etc. are vexing issues and hardly to be resolved through direct archaeological proof. Indirect data, however, might lead to a solution. These will be discussed in this paper and some cuneiform data may help us here.

The Persepolis Polychromy Project: aims, analytical methods and first results
Mr Alexander Nagel (PhD candidate, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), Hassan Rahsaz and Mohammed Talebian(Parsa-Pasargadae Research Foundation,Persepolis)

The group of monuments and buildings on the terrace platform of Persepolis, in the homeland of the Achaemenid rulers in Fars (south-west Iran) was constructed between the late sixth and mid-fourth centuries BC. Systematically excavated between 1931 and 1939, the Apadana, the Hall of Hundred Columns, the Central Building, the Treasury, the large number of palace buildings and other structures must be considered as the most important examples of Achaemenid dynastic architecture in Iran, bringing the long architectural and sculptural traditions in the ancient Near East and previous styles to a new climax, albeit at the same time introducing their own innovations and techniques.

It has long been known that the relief sculptures, the columns and other architectural features were once brightly decorated with applied paint but the extent of this has hitherto not been systematically studied. The aim of an ongoing international project, initiated in 2006, is a systematic building by building investigation into the role of colours, pigments and other materials on the surface of the monuments. Our paper will introduce the background and methods of the project, highlight the important role in the application of modern analytical tools and scientific equipment, and the potential values of collaboration projects into the role of pigments, present the first results and case studies, and stress the role of modern documentation that traces the degradation processes of the surface over the past two centuries. The role of the colour and pigment application in the overall appearance of the monuments at Persepolis and in the Achaemenid Empire in general is laid out, as are plans for the future of the polychrome heritage and its role in ancient Near Eastern archaeology.

Mesopotamian glassware of the Sasanian period
Prof. Maria Maddalena Negro Ponzi (Dipartimento di Scienze Antropologiche, Archeologiche, Storico Territoriali – Università di Torino)

The Mesopotamian civilisation was characterised owing to its geographical position by repeated contacts with the neighbouring Eastern and Western cultures. The contacts were both political and military, as well as commercial, and the foreign influences became even greater after the conquest of Alexander, when Hellenistic culture became a dominant element both in the Seleucid and the Parthian dynasties, and was still present in the following Sasanian period. Different forms of interaction appear both in commonware and in luxury items, imported or locally made according to foreign prototypes. Veh Ardashir, "the royal town" deeply inter-connected with the adjacent Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon, was also the administrative and financial main town of a separate Mesopotamian district and here rises the problem of how deeply the Iranian-rooted dominant class were influenced by the local production of Mesopotamian multi–cultural society, not only supplying it with typological trends, but also with production systems and provision of raw materials.

This paper will examine the evidence of the excavated glassware from Veh Ardashir. This material changes abruptly between the late Parthian phases and the first levels of the Sasanian town when it appears surprisingly characterised. The glassware composition was initially made in the Parthian period using soda-lime metal of Mediterranean type, replaced during the Sasanian period by a High Magnesium metal, obtained by plant ashes, with an entirely different type range, and from the late fourth–fifth centuries by a renewed plant ashes formula which was maintained until the Islamic period. These changes find no exact counterpart in the other classes of materials, however, and only an analysis in depth of these discrepancies as compared with the excavation data, the site planning and the historical sources (end users, type/functions, population characters) can allow us to outline the influences dominating in each chronological phases of the period and their evolution.

King and God: the long and complicated life of a bronze statue from Hazor
Dr Tallay Ornan (The Hebrew University, Jerusalem)

Originally covered with shiny gold foil, which is characteristic of elevated images in the ancient Near East, a bronze statue of an enthroned man was found in a small room adjacent to the large hall of a monumental building on the acropolis of Tel Hazor. The figure is wearing a heavy-rolled hem dress and a high oval head-covering, typical of Middle Bronze rulers in the Levant and Syria during the eighteenth–seventeenth centuries BC. To date, it is the largest known statue of this type, reaching 30 cm in height. It is not clear whether the statue "begun" its life representing a living or a dead king but it is suggested that it ended its long life in the late thirteenth century as a divine image.

This paper will deal with the impact and meaning of the shimmering looks of statues as well as the long use of cult statues in temples, and their possible change of identity during the hundreds of years in which they served in temples. The discussion will also touch upon the complex relations manifested through pictorial renderings between ancient Near Eastern gods and kings.

Colours in the Royal Palace of Early Syrian Ebla
Prof. Frances Pinnock (University of Parma)

More than thirty years have elapsed since the first discovery of the Royal Palace G of Early Syrian Ebla, and during this long period, although the building was severely sacked and largely set on fire during its destruction in 2300 BC, the discovery of several fragments of the furniture it contained, and their, albeit incomplete, reconstruction, now allow us to propose some hypotheses about its rich and polychrome inner decoration. This certainly included, on the background of white plaster, several kinds of inlaid panels made of different materials, and different kinds of composite pieces of furniture, always made with different materials and whose fragments were found. On the other hand, the use of tapestries or carpets only remains a hypothesis. The paper aims at presenting what we know at present, on the base of the evidence offered both by archaeology and philology, and proposes a partial reconstruction of the main rooms of the palace building, with special concern for the Court of Audience and the inner Throne Room of the Administrative Quarter.

Colours in Late Bronze Mesopotamia: some hints on wall paintings from Dur Kurigalzu, Nuzi and Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta
Dr Sara PIZZIMENTI (University of Rome "La Sapienza")

Archaeological excavations of Mesopotamian palaces usually give us a monochrome image faded by time. Rare discoveries of plaster whose colours are well preserved allow us to reconstruct the original colours of these images. The second millennium BC provides more examples of palatial wall paintings belonging to the three prominent cultures of the Late Bronze period: Mitannian, Kassite and Middle-Assyrian. The respective palaces at the sites of Nuzi, Dur Kurigalzu and Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta have in fact preserved some of the wall paintings which originally decorated their rooms. By analysing these fragmentary painted plasters and the careful reconstructions made by different scholars, it is possible to note some differences in the use of colours and in drawing patterns according to the different cultures.

The aim of this paper is: a) to analyse and compare wall paintings belonging to these three main cultures and attempt to find analogies and differences, and b) to investigate, within the context of each culture, the role of colours and their significance.

New interpretations about Neo-Assyrian wall paintings from Tell Masaikh
Dr Paola Poli (University of Ferrara)

Tell Masaikh, situated on the eastern bank of the Syrian Lower Middle Euphrates, has been excavated since 1996 by an international team directed by M.G. Masetti-Rouault and identified as the Neo-Assyrian colony of Kar-Aššurnasirpal. In different parts of the local palace, dated to the beginning of the eighth century, fragments of wall painting were found, characterised by different geometric motifs built up through the opposition of black and white bands. Other fragments, found in situ, preserve black geometric motifs again on a white background. If, in a general way, these motifs resemble the decoration of other residences in North Syrian sites, appearing however almost one century later, in the same time they also present some unusual features. From this point of view, the fragmentary wall paintings from Tell Masaikh represent one of the most ancient examples of a new way of using colours in an architectural context. The paper has two aims, firstly to present some fragments which are not yet published, and secondly to try to propose a hypothesis about the origin of this particular taste, based on the opposition of black and white, and of its possible symbolic and artistic meaning, starting from the documentation from the palace of a Neo-Assyrian colony in an Aramean country.

New light on the lapis lazuli of the Tôd Treasure (Egypt)
Mr Philippe Quenet (Université de Strasbourg/CNRS)

Since it was discovered in 1936 by F. Bisson de la Roque in the Temple of Montu at Tôd (Egypt), the so-called Tôd Treasure has remained badly known. Buried under the reign of king Amenemhet II (nineteenth century BC), this deposit consisted of four chests containing luxury items predominantly made of silver and lapis lazuli. While a long-lasting controversy focused on the silver vessel until the 1990s and contributed to bring into light the metallic artefacts, the collection of lapis lazuli, massively Mesopotamian in style and manufacture, has never been thoroughly examined, nor has it been paid the attention it actually deserves. Therefore a new investigation of this lapis lazuli assemblage, which is one of the most impressive to be found in a closed context in the ancient Near East, has been initiated by the "Tôd Treasure Lapis Lazuli Project of Publication". The team, co-ordinated by Philippe Quenet (Université de Strasbourg/CNRS), is comprised of archaeologists and epigraphers specialised in various fields of the ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern civilizations, namely Michèle Casanova (CNRS-Paris), Virginie Danrey (CNRS-Lyon), Sylvie Donnat (Université de Strasbourg /CNRS), Denis Lacambre (Université de Lille III/CNRS), Geneviève Pierrat-Bonnefois (Musée du Louvre-Paris).

White, Red and Black: technical relationships and stylistic perceptions between colours, lights and places
Dr Alessandro Di Ludovico and Dr Marco Ramazotti (University of Rome "La Sapienza")

The paper will focus on the use of the black, red and white colours in the patterns of architectural decorations in the Early Syrian phase of Tell Mardikh/Ebla. The classification of the figurative and decorative models outlines contextual differences in the aesthetic perception and figurative translation of the human and natural phenomena, while the generative analysis of some recurrent motifs identifies an ideographic grammar that served as a base model for the technological divisions of the spaces. In the repertory of painted motifs one can appreciate the existence of a hidden sign list for the 'geometric' reduction of the human behaviour, as if it was a library where original themes could be selected and repeated in the form of aesthetic systems which survived historical periods.

"A garden of spring": archaeological and archaeometric evidence for the polychromy of the Ghaznavid marbles
Dr Martina Rugiadi (IsIAO, Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente)

The rich polychromy and gilding of the architectural decoration in marble, alabaster and carved bricks and stucco in the eleventh–thirteenth centuries in Ghazni (Afghanistan) is reported both in the coeval historical accounts (al–‘Utbi) and in archaeological documents dating back to the excavations of the site more than fifty years ago (Umberto Scerrato, Alessio Bombaci). While the former might have been influenced by the subjection of the authors to their Ghaznavid sovereigns – as the use of poetical expressions and of over–emphatic images suggests – the latter do only report authentic observations on artefacts that have subsequently completely lost their original coverings. A recent programme of archaeometrical analysis supported by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung on a number of artefacts from Ghazni held at IsIAO in Rome has attested the evidence of their polychrome covering and attempts to identify both the pigments and the bindings employed.

Green Glazed Funnels from Tell Afis Iron Age Temple A
Dr Sebastiano Soldi (Archaeological Museum of Florence, Italy)

In recent years a large temple dated to the mid-late Iron Age has been excavated on the acropolis of Tell Afis (Syria). Among the materials found in the area was a peculiar class of clay objects. All around three of the four sides of the temple area and beneath the debris of the outer walls of the temple, archaeologists encountered funnels of various size and shapes. Often with a greenish glazed exterior surface, all have a flat out-flaring rim characterised by a protruding pointed horn attached to the flat ridge. The occurrence of such materials all along the three facades of the temple (where the archaeological contexts were better preserved), has led to an architectural interpretation for their function. Few typological comparisons are available but some very similar items from Zincirli are dated to the age of king Bar-Rakib in the second half of the eighth century BC (Luschan & Andrae 1943). Other similar objects, judging by the description given by Victor Place (1867/70: 54-55, pl. 67: 11-14), seem to have been employed in the palace of Sargon II at Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad).

In this paper we will discuss the various suggested functions for these objects, including devices for lighting, ventilation or to collect rainwater from the rooftop and funnel it away along the sides of the building. Indeed, the green glazed funnels, which would have been clearly visible on the white plastered facades of the temple, may have had a double function, one decorative, giving colour and rhythm to the high walls of the temple, and the other practical, as the glazed material was impermeable to the wear of water. The additional aim of this study is to check possible previous examples in ancient Near Eastern architecture, such as in the "fourth temple" at Late Bronze Emar, also in connection with the use of glazing technique.

Place, V., 1867/70. Ninive et l’Assyrie. Paris: Imprimerie Impériale. Luschan, F. von & Andrae W., 1943. Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli V. Die Kleinfunde von Sendschirli. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Soldi, S., 2009. 'Aramaeans and Assyrians in North-Western Syria: Material evidence from Tell Afis', Interaction entre Assyriens et Araméens (Kepinski, C. & Tenu, A., eds), Syria 86: 97-118.

sebastiano.soldi@beniculturali.it

Theory and symbolism of colours in ancient Mesopotamia
Prof. Lorenzo Verderame ("Sapienza",Università di Roma)

The subject of colour has been a subject generally neglected in Ancient Near Eastern studies and essays on the topic are very rare. Even though this fact depends mainly on the nature of the sources, it is worth pointing out that the anthropological theories on colours, starting from the crucial work by Berlin and Kay, have been totally ignored in ancient Near Eastern research. The aim of this paper is to propose a first description of the symbolism and theory of colours in ancient Mesopotamia, and its relation with the general systems of colours and the relative theories, on the base of epigraphic (mainly magic and divination, or references to colours in textiles or objects) and archaeological data.

A straightforward tool for the spatial characterisation of Egyptian blue
Dr Giovanni Verri, Tracey Sweek, Janet Ambers, Paul Collins, St John Simpson, Catherine Higgitt and David Saunders (The British Museum)

One major difficulty in reconstructing ancient decorative schemes has been recognising the often faded and scarce remnants of original pigments. This paper describes the use of a non-invasive and rapid technique which can reveal even tiny traces of Egyptian blue on ancient materials. Egyptian blue was an important pigment in the Ancient Near East, having been used extensively throughout the region from ca. 2500 BC until after the end of the Roman Empire.

When irradiated with visible light, Egyptian blue has been found to emit infrared radiation (luminescence) with an exceptional intensity. This emission can be easily and non-invasively recorded using commercially available light sources and digital cameras sensitive to the infrared range. Using this mapping technique (visible-induced luminescence imaging), single particles of Egyptian blue can be detected, sometimes even when concealed by other layers or highly discoloured. The technique can be applied wherever photography is possible, so that large or inaccessible objects can be imaged in situ from a distance, even when the working conditions are less than ideal. It is being used in the British Museum to survey objects in the Near Eastern collections and has proved invaluable in identifying surviving remnants of the pigment.

In addition to revealing expected and unexpected occurrences of Egyptian blue, direct comparison of the infrared luminescence images with the objects has allowed the identification of otherwise lost decorative patterns and raised questions about the history and conservation history of the objects and how their otherwise invisible polychromy should be preserved for the future. The results from the study of a number of equine reliefs from the ancient Near East will be presented and discussed in relation to their conservation and display history.

Colour combinations in the costume of three Pre-Islamic dynasties of Iran against a background of the synchronous Iranian World
Prof. Sergey A. Yatsenko (Russian State University for the Humanities)

Colour combinations in the costume of peoples in the Iranian World reveal their traditional character: red, white and blue, with rarer use of yellow, black and green. It reflects ancient Iranian colour symbolism rather than the contents of dye-stuffs. The influence of the Achaemenid Empire on other Iranian peoples (the Scythians, the "Pazyryk" peoples) can be traced in many aspects, including the use of multi–coloured and, partly, striped fabrics and continued into the period of the Sasanian Empire when the concept of decorating cloth with medallions compensated for the earlier popular use of gold plaque clothing appliqués. Multi-coloured fabrics are not typical for Iranian costume and the costume of other Iranian peoples in the Parthian period (Sarmatians, Kushans and Chorasmians, with the exception of the Khotano–Sakas living in the Chinese neighbourhood), which can be explained through Greek aesthetic influence. Finally, we can observe colour differentiation in upper and under garments, and male and female clothing, the latter usually with a less contrasted colour range.

The Symbolism of colours in the ancient Near East
Miss Martina Zanon (Ca' Foscari - Venezia)

Colour is a very important part of human experience since antiquity and in every culture and period colours have always been bearers of some symbolic meaning. For Mesopotamian culture, I identified six basic colours that seem to have a symbolic meaning: black, white, red, green, yellow and blue. I am studying different classes of materials ranging from the third to first millennia BC, including coloured and precious stones and metals from the "Royal Tombs" of the cemetery at Ur and the Queen's Graves at Nimrud, and frescoes from palaces at Mari and Nineveh.

I have taken into consideration some aspects of Mesopotamian mythology (as product of human culture) to comprehend the argument in a better way. This is one aspect that needs more attention and investigation, namely brightness. Brightness and luminous colours, as metals or semi-precious stones (lapis lazuli), are synonyms of holiness, pureness, joy and beauty, so they can be assimilated to the divine world. Starting from the conclusions of my thesis, I will try to explain if blue (pigment or lapis lazuli) can always symbolise the divine world and if the introduction of blue, as a symbolic colour, can be associated with the birth of a divine consciousness, which creates a new symbolism beginning as early as the third millennium BC.

I will try to explain if blue and red (frequently coupled in jewellery) could represent the union of different opposites: feminine and masculine gender (creating the concept of fertility), and/or the two fundamental elements of Mesopotamian culture, the divine and the human worlds (elite above all), creating the concept of the royal power beneficiated by gods.