The color of ivory
Subtitle: polychromy on Byzantine ivories
By: Carolyn L. Connor.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Princeton, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 129
Subjects: Ivories, Byzantine.; Polychromy.
Description: Intrigued by barely visible traces of paint or stain, Connor subjected such ivory objects as boxes, plaques, and book covers to scientific analysis. Under the microscope, she saw that their surfaces were once ablaze with color, while tests identified the actual pigments. Her findings, presented here, demonstrate that the ivories were colored and that the paint or stain - which does not adhere well to the surface of ivory - either wore off or was cleaned away.

She draws on the work of archaeologists, classicists, historians, and art historians to show that this color was almost certainly original and not, as many scholars have assumed, a medieval or later addition. The author also locates Byzantine ivories within a long tradition of colored ivory going back, for example, to a painted chest found in the tomb of the Egyptian boy-king Tutankhamen.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-123) and index.