For the exhibition series Caring for Art. Restorations on Display, promoted by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, a selection of vases is on display, chosen for their artistic significance and the quality of their restoration. They are part of a group of artefacts brought to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure for conservation under a fruitful partnership with the Guarnacci Museum, focused on research, conservation, and enhancement of the collection.
Tutti gli oggetti esposti provengono dalle necropoli ellenistiche di Volterra e sono ascrivibili a due diverse produzioni etrusche di IV-III sec. a.C.: la ceramica a vernice nera appartenente al «Gruppo di Malacena» e la ceramica etrusca a figure rosse. La prima classe è rappresentata da due magnifici crateri a calice di particolare pregio per la vernice nero-bluastra lucente e per le raffinate decorazioni plastiche; tra i vasi a figure rosse sono stati selezionati una interessante kylix attribuita al “Maestro dei Tondi”, la cui produzione – inizialmente ritenuta chiusina - è oggi dagli studiosi più convintamente assegnata ad ambito volterrano; una kelebe – tipica forma etrusca - del “Gruppo Volaterrae” ed una oinochoe la cui decorazione figurata mostra chiaramente influssi dalle coeve produzioni campane.
The restoration work began with students from PFP 4 of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure School of Advanced Training and Study, who carried out the cleaning, disassembly, reassembly, and integration of several of the vessels. The project was then completed by the conservators of the Ceramic, Plastic and Glass Materials Department, who undertook the full restoration of all the vases, including three-dimensional integrations and pictorial retouching.
As with all restoration projects undertaken by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, this intervention stems from research and methodological reflection that will serve as a reference for future work on ancient figured and black-glaze vases from major museum collections, such as those of the Guarnacci Museum, whose historic collections began to take shape in the second half of the eighteenth century.
As the title suggests, the restoration aimed to “give shape” to the vases by restoring their completeness while preserving the historic appearance acquired through earlier conservation interventions. Whenever sufficient evidence allowed, the vessels were philologically reconstructed by reintegrating missing sections. The chromatic finish was completed with pictorial retouching using the tratteggio (subdued pointillist) technique, which restores the visual unity of each object while ensuring that the restored areas remain clearly distinguishable from the original material.
Where
via degli Alfani, 78. 50121 – Firenze
