- Brooklyn, New York, United States
Federico Carò
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Scientific Research, Department Member
- Archaeology, Earth Sciences, Landscape Archaeology, Scientific Research, Greek Archaeology, Mediterranean archaeology, and 29 moreArchaeological Science, Survey Methodology, Roman Pottery, Archaeological Chemistry, Archaeological Geophysics, Archaeological Stratigraphy, Marble Provenance, Ceramic Petrography, Mineral Prospecting/Mineral Exploration/Field Geology/Ore mineralogy/Petrography/Ore Deposits Modeling, Applied petrography for cultural heritage, portable XRF (PXRF) in Archaeology and Museum Science, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray Diffraction, Materials Characterization, X-ray diffraction and Rietveld Method applied areas of physics, chemistry, geology, medical and engineering and materials science., Roman Art, Classical Archaeology, Materials Science, Archaeometry, Metal Threads in Southeast Asian Textiles, Khmer art and architecture, Khmer Studies, Ancient Glass, Analysis of Pigments on Ancient Artifacts, Archaeometallurgy, Archaeology and Art History, History of Sculpture, Gypsum, and Mineral Raw Materialsedit
Scholarship has focused on the Gupta age (ca. 320–550) as the quintessential expression of classical Indian art, and on the key role of metal icons in the dissemination and development of Buddhist and Hindu practice during that period and... more
Scholarship has focused on the Gupta age (ca. 320–550) as the quintessential expression of classical Indian art, and on the key role of metal icons in the dissemination and development of Buddhist and Hindu practice during that period and its aftermath into the eighth century. In fact, although well attested in contemporary texts, few bronze figures, and none in gold or silver, survived the decline of Buddhism and the destruction of monasteries during the Muslim invasions, and for those still extant, little attention has been devoted to their manufacture. Close examination of a group of hollow-cast bronze Gupta-style Buddha images from North India has revealed a unique technological style developed to meet the particular challenges of producing three-dimensional, but relatively shallow, figures with expansive garments. Unlike most figural metal statuary, the Gupta-style images were cast in a horizontal orientation, with internal gates that directed the molten metal sideways into the billowing draperies. These and other conclusions regarding their manufacture are based on visual examination, computed radiography, volumetric X-ray imaging, and X-ray fluorescence spot and line scans analyses. The spread of this technology to South India and Southeast Asia parallels the wide ranging propogation of the Gupta style, but the specialized knowledge necessary to produce such images points to the movement of experienced craftsmen between these regions and the Gupta heartland.
Research Interests:
The nature of ground preparations is of critical interest to those engaging in the study of historical painting techniques , as certain materials can be identified with specific regions and school of painting. This is the case of a... more
The nature of ground preparations is of critical interest to those engaging in the study of historical painting techniques , as certain materials can be identified with specific regions and school of painting. This is the case of a particular ash-based, calcite-rich material obtained as a byproduct of lye production, recently identified for the first time in ground preparations by means of chemical analysis, and which is considered specific to Baroque artists of Spanish school. Because of limitations in the size of the samples that can be removed from works of art, and because of the intrinsic variability of ash composition, chemical analysis alone may not be representative of the whole ash-containing layer, thus limiting the identification of this material. By comparing the morphology, texture and composition of calcite pseudomorphs in laboratory ash to the ground preparations in three Baroque paintings, we provide additional, unequivocal tools to identify calcite particles from ashes in paint cross sections. The results demonstrate that the chemical composition of the ash can vary, but that the morphology and size of the calcite pseudomorph crystals abundantly present in the recycled ash applied to the canvas supports are consistent and extremely characteristic. The unique polygonal shapes and skeletal morphology of the pseudomorphs and their abundance make them ideal markers to recognize ash in paintings' ground layers, even when very limited amounts of sample are available. The study shows also that the practice of using recycled ash in the preparation of ground layers occurred outside Spain, by artists with direct or indirect Spanish lineage.
Vincent van Gogh's still lifes Irises and Roses were investigated to shed light onto the degree to which the paintings had changed, both individually and in relation to each other since they were painted, particularly in regard to the... more
Vincent van Gogh's still lifes Irises and Roses were investigated to shed light onto the degree to which the paintings had changed, both individually and in relation to each other since they were painted, particularly in regard to the fading of the red lakes. Non-invasive techniques, including macroscopic X-ray fluorescence mapping, reflectance imaging spectroscopy, and X-radiography, were combined with microanalytical techniques in a select number of samples. The in-depth microchemical analysis was necessary to overcome the complications that arise when evaluating by non-invasive methods alone the compositions of passages with complex layering and mixing of paints. The results obtained by these two approaches were complemented by color measurements performed on paint cross-sections and on protected edges, and with historical information provided by the artist's own descriptions, early reviews and reproductions, and the data was used to carry out digital color simulations that provided, to a certain extent, a visualization of how the paintings may have originally appeared.
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Between the 9th and 15th centuries CE the builders and artisans of Angkor and its territories furnished their landscapes with thousands of temples and tens of thousands of sacred sculptures, yet the operational behaviour of these craft... more
Between the 9th and 15th centuries CE the builders and artisans of Angkor and its territories furnished their landscapes with thousands of temples and tens of thousands of sacred sculptures, yet the operational behaviour of these craft specialists is little known. This article presents the results of excavations and materials analysis from a centre of sandstone production for the classic period Angkorian city of Hariharālaya and appraises the procurement of raw materials, manufacturing methods, and sites of production for the makers of temples and sculptures. A production site associated with the temple of Bakong was identified by surface remains of sandstone debitage and unfinished sculptures. Excavation revealed a 9th-century building associated with large-scale sandstone waste deposits and another phase of sculpture production in the 12th and 13th centuries. A study of sandstone characterisation was applied to in situ production waste, unfinished sculptures from the workshop, and on completed works. Comparison of samples from the workshop and associated temples with sculptures from Cambodian and international collections suggest the site was likely used as a dump for construction of nearby temples and later to produce images of the gods destined for veneration. Moreover, the workshop was part of a network of craft specialists who sourced many thousands of tons of specific sandstone across the Angkorian landscape.
Polkinghorne, M., Douglas, J..and Carò, F., 2015. “Carving at the Capital: A stone workshop at Hariharālaya, Angkor", in Bulletin l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient (BEFEO), vol. 101: 55 - 90.
Polkinghorne, M., Douglas, J..and Carò, F., 2015. “Carving at the Capital: A stone workshop at Hariharālaya, Angkor", in Bulletin l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient (BEFEO), vol. 101: 55 - 90.
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Under Jayavarman VII (1182/83-ca.1218 CE) the Khmer empire reached its apex, leaving a heritage of major construction works and unique artistic production. The stone materials of several sculptures produced under his reign were... more
Under Jayavarman VII (1182/83-ca.1218 CE) the Khmer empire reached its apex, leaving a heritage of major construction works and unique artistic production. The stone materials of several sculptures produced under his reign were characterized and compared to possible geological sources in northern and eastern Cambodia. The data suggest that a specific type of sandstone, rich in volcanic detritus, was deliberately selected and quarried from a Triassic sedimentary sequence exposed far from Angkor, the main political and economic center at that time.