Encausto and Ganosis: Beeswax as Paint and Coating during the Roman Era and Its Applicability in Modern Art, Craft and Conservation (original) (raw)
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Beeswax is a frequently mentioned binder additive in the literature. Unfortunately, it is not so durable as to be well preserved in archaeological records, although there are faint exceptions. Because of its strengthening capabilities, which is believed to be its role, this research set out to carry out an experiment to verify the effects of adding it to the adhesives potentially used in the European Stone Age. The study used pine resin and its various compositions with beeswax and frequently used charcoal. The binders obtained were then compared with birch tar, which is considered to be one of the best adhesives in prehistory. Arrow ballistics were used to verify the effectiveness of beeswax addition, which shows that this addition has a high-quality effect on the natural binders.
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Wax finishing in Roman polychrome statuary: ganosis in the colossal head from Dougga (Tunisia)
Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2021
The material evidence for the wax finish on ancient marble statues, known as ganosis, is scarce and controversial, although Greek and Latin sources describe the recipes and cultural value of this treatment. The surface treatment of a colossal Roman head from the Roman theatre of Dougga (Tunisia), dated to the end of the second century CE, is studied by a multi-analytical protocol (video-microscope, cross section, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry of one sample). The results of this physico-chemical analysis and the comparison with ancient recipes, prove the use of ganosis on a Roman statue and explore, for the first time, the application of the recipes described in ancient sources. This result shows the potential of the Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry analysis, detecting at the same time organic and inorganic materials and their stratigraphy, to study the ancient recipes.