using 3-d prototyping as an intermediary in the reconstruction of ancient pottery

Reconstructing an

Ancient Ceramic Plate

Using 3-D Prototyping

Plate Depicting

The Judgment of Paris

Attributed to Lydos Painter

Ca. 560 - 660 BCE

MCCM 2005.87.2

Prior Restoration

Like many objects acquired by museums, this

plate had been previously repaired. The old joins

were released, and the existing fills were removed.

Reconstruction Strategy

1. Create profile drawings from fragments

2. Produce 3-D digital renderings of plate

3. Fabricate replica - “prototype”

4. Make flexible mold from prototype

5. Cast toned fills around ancient fragments

6. Compensate surface decoration to visually

integrate fills with original

Profile Drawings

Precise measurements were

taken of the fragments using

ruler, compass, and calipers.

Profile drawings were created

on graph paper.

3-D Renderings

Digital renderings

were produced from

the profile drawings,

using 3-D imaging

software.

3-D Prototype

The digital files were then

“built” as 3-D forms, using

equipment at the Georgia

Institute of Technology

Manufacturing and

Research Center.

This process is much like

ink-jet printing with

repeated layers of wax.

3-D Prototype

The two halves of the wax prototype were refined

with scalpels and hot tools to remove struts and

ridges that result from the build process.

Flexible Mold

A two-part silicone rubber mold was made from a

section of the wax prototype.

Casting-in Fills

The ancient fragments were placed in the mold.

Casting-in Fills

The mold was closed and weighted. Pigmented

plaster was injected into the mold using a stainless

steel pastry tool.

Fills

The pigmented plaster filled missing areas in the

plate with minimal overflow onto the ancient

surfaces. The plaster fills were then refined with

scalpels and sanding tools.

Integrating Fills

The color of fills was adjusted with dilute acrylic

emulsion paint. Concentric bands in the design

were painted on fills to visually integrate them with

the ancient fragments.

Reconstructing the Image

Although not within the scope of this project, it would be

possible to reconstruct the image, referencing ancient

fragments depicting the same subject by the same painter.

The repeating border pattern could also be replicated.

Materials

• Rhom & Haas Acryloid B-72 resin

• ThermoJet 88® 3-D printing compound

• SmoothON, Inc. SmoothSil® Series 940

platinum-cure silicone rubber

• Mann Release Technology Ease Release 200

mold release spray

• US Gypsum, Inc. Pottery Plaster

• Kremer Pigments earth pigments

• Golden acrylic emulsion paints

Renee Stein

Chief Conservator

Carlos Museum

Collaborators

Susan Blevins

PhD Candidate

Emory University

Jasper Gaunt

Curator

Carlos Museum

Dave Rosen

Director

GA Tech MARC

Nelson Burke

Proprietor

The Engineer Guy

Ron Barnhart

Preparator

Carlos Museum

Eleanor Ridley

Volunteer

Carlos Museum

Project Grant

This project was supported by a grant from the

Center for Creativity and Art at Emory University.