PRIN 2022 “HARMOGE”
Title: Hellenistic and Roman Methods of Joining. Exploring the Joins and Attachments of Freestanding Sculpture and Architectural Decoration (2nd century BCE – 3rd century CE).
ICCOM Principal Investigator: Stefano Legnaioli.
Project type: National.
Duration: 04/02/2025 – 03/02/2027.
Abstract: The aim of the project is the systematic study of joins, attachments, and repairs of stone sculpture and architectural decoration in the Hellenistic and Roman world (2nd century BCE – 3rd century CE). Although almost all works of ancient sculpture bear traces of these techniques, scientific literature has devoted only cursory attention to them. This lack of information prevents a detailed understanding of the technological and stylistic evolution of Graeco-Roman sculpture, as well as of its economic framework. The aim of the project is to create a repertoire of practices, tools, and materials, as well as the first survey of the subject based on a small set of case studies. To do so, the project combines art-historical perspectives (typological classification, contextual study, iconographic and stylistic analysis, the examination of written sources), the archaeometric-analytical approach (macrophotography and optical microscopy, chemical, mineralogical and textural characterization of lithotypes, pins, and adhesives), and digital methods (open-access database, collaborative processes, 3D models, and Artificial Intelligence). Case studies are selected according to criteria of representativeness and consistency with the research’s aims among the collection of museums that have expressed preliminary interest in the project (the Capitoline Museums and the National Museum in Rome).
Coordinator: Prof. Anna Anguissola (University of Pisa).
Partnership: CNR-ICCOM, University of Pisa, University of Venezia “Ca Foscari” .
ICCOM participants: Stefano Legnaioli, Giulia Lorenzetti.
Financed by: MUR Proejcts PRIN 2022, project code no. 2022AS5M9E.
Project overall budget: 208.851,00 €.
ICCOM budget: 51.000,00 €.
CUP: B53C24008160006.
