But by using analytical methods such as x-rays, and, more recently, infrared reflectography, it became certain that the Museum s version is the original on which van der Weyden based his later copies. However, science does not have all the answers. One of the Museum s most famous objects, the small ivory and gold statuette of a Minoan snake goddess at right, has been controversial for decades. Since the sculpture arrived at the Museum in 1914, it has been surrounded by a fog of romantic stories about its purchase. Opinion has see-sawed for decades.
Connoisseurship has no answers, and all scientific tests have proved inconclusive.
These organic materials, which permeate the ivory, can affect the results of the analysis.