Advancing the Technical Study of Color in Archaeological Collections
FAIN: PR-276751-21
Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1382)
Caroline Roberts (Project Director: May 2020 to present)
The development of a research workflow and protocol based on capacity-building technical research in color studies using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and multi-spectral imaging (MSI) techniques to study archaeological collections at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology.
Color is a fundamental tool of human expression and has been for millennia. Understanding how people used color in the ancient world can tell us about their beliefs, values, and how they viewed the world around them. Color could be found everywhere: in architectural spaces, on sculpture, and in the clothing people wore. Color choices were made at every level of society, from emperors to individuals in their daily lives. Color was a commodity that traveled across the ancient Mediterranean, from western Spain to the Fayoum region of Egypt. Certain colors were so valued – and so rare – that people devised ways to create them chemically. We know much of this thanks to the scientific study of color that survives on artifacts. Technical color research provides physical evidence of the prevalence and variety of color in antiquity, and is changing the way we think about the ancient world.
Associated Products
News from the Conservation Lab—Laurel Fricker! (Blog Post)Title: News from the Conservation Lab—Laurel Fricker!
Author: Caroline Roberts
Abstract: An interview with U-M archaeology graduate student Laurel Fricker about her experience as a research assistant on the NEH Color Research project.
Date: 5/24/2022
Primary URL:
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/kelsey-museum-blog/2022/05/24/news-from-the-conservation-lab-laurel-fricker/Website: The Kelsey Blog
News from the Conservation Lab—analyzing ancient portraits and panel paintings (Blog Post)Title: News from the Conservation Lab—analyzing ancient portraits and panel paintings
Author: Caroline Roberts
Abstract: A look at some key findings from the imaging and analysis of a painted mummy portrait as part of the Kelsey’s NEH-funded technical color survey.
Date: 4/19/2022
Primary URL:
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/kelsey-museum-blog/2022/04/19/news-from-the-conservation-lab-analyzing-ancient-portraits-and-panel-paintings/Website: The Kelsey Blog
Ugly Object of the Month — August 2021 (Blog Post)Title: Ugly Object of the Month — August 2021
Author: Suzanne Davis
Abstract: Imaging results from a polychrome textile object studied during our technical color survey are featured in our monthly “Ugly Object” blogroll.
Date: 8/4/2021
Primary URL:
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/kelsey-museum-blog/2021/08/04/ugly-object-of-the-month-august-2021/Website: The Kelsey Blog
News from the Conservation Lab — exploring the Kelsey collection with X-rays (Blog Post)Title: News from the Conservation Lab — exploring the Kelsey collection with X-rays
Author: Caroline Roberts
Abstract: A brief introduction to how XRF spectroscopy works and how it is to be used during the technical color survey.
Date: 5/20/2021
Primary URL:
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/kelsey-museum-blog/2021/05/20/news-from-the-conservation-lab-exploring-the-kelsey-collection-with-x-rays/Website: The Kelsey Blog
U-M Middle Eastern Studies 338 lecture, “Painted Stone in Ancient Egypt: Research and Preservation at the Kelsey Museum” presented by Caroline Roberts on February 24, 2022 (Course or Curricular Material)Title: U-M Middle Eastern Studies 338 lecture, “Painted Stone in Ancient Egypt: Research and Preservation at the Kelsey Museum” presented by Caroline Roberts on February 24, 2022
Author: Caroline Roberts
Abstract: An undergraduate lecture on the topic of sculptural polychromy in Egypt. Case studies included a group of polychrome grave markers from Terenouthis examined as part of the NEH-funded color technical survey.
Year: 2022
Audience: Undergraduate
Lecture for Kelsey Museum docent training program, “Technical Color Research at the Kelsey” presented by Caroline Roberts on October 27, 2021 (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Lecture for Kelsey Museum docent training program, “Technical Color Research at the Kelsey” presented by Caroline Roberts on October 27, 2021
Abstract: An introduction to the technical color research field with case studies selected from the color technical survey.
Author: Caroline Roberts
Date: 10/27/2021
Location: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
Investigating Color in Roman Egypt (Web Resource)Title: Investigating Color in Roman Egypt
Author: Eric Campbell
Author: Caroline Roberts
Author: Suzanne Davis
Abstract: This publicly-available website shares resources for scientific color investigation, project case studies, bibliographies and more.
Year: 2023
Primary URL:
https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/color-roman-egypt/Primary URL Description: Project website