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The World Beyond BetterMost => Anything Goes => Topic started by: delalluvia on August 24, 2010, 11:13:47 pm

Title: UV light uncovers ancient statue colors
Post by: delalluvia on August 24, 2010, 11:13:47 pm
Original Greek statues were brightly painted, but after thousands of years, those paints have worn away. Find out how shining a light on the statues can be all that's required to see them as they were thousands of years ago.

http://io9.com/5616498/ultraviolet-light-reveals-how-ancient-greek-statues-really-looked

Something we all already knew, but I always like to see it recreated.
Title: Re: UV light uncovers ancient statue colors
Post by: Meryl on August 25, 2010, 12:40:38 am
Hunh!  Very pretty, but I think I prefer the more tasteful white or grey.  :)
Title: Re: UV light uncovers ancient statue colors
Post by: Penthesilea on August 25, 2010, 02:15:33 am
Hunh!  Very pretty, but I think I prefer the more tasteful white or grey.  :)


Agreed. Colored they look a bit like annual fair attractions. I believe "tacky" was the word used in the article.
But then, maybe the examples diplayed are not well done, maybe modern scientists have not all wrong, but wrong enough to give a too colorful impression.
Title: Re: UV light uncovers ancient statue colors
Post by: delalluvia on August 25, 2010, 06:22:28 pm
Or else we've been influenced by the Victorians of what taste should look like because - they had no clue.

 :laugh: :laugh:

Chances are they liked it like that back in ancient days.  Not subdued at all, and just as colorful as they could make it.  Coloration = money in those days because dyes and paints were relatively expensive to make.

So the more deeply, richly and brightly colored something was, the more money was obviously invested in it.
Title: Re: UV light uncovers ancient statue colors
Post by: bailey1205 on August 25, 2010, 06:27:12 pm
That's very interesting.

I really never thought about that.