Gypsum-alabaster

From the point of view of modern geology, the term alabaster refers to two different types of stone. 2 The first one, known under the Greek name alabastros or alabastrites (άλάβαστρος, άλαβαστρίτης), known today as calcite alabaster (also onyx marble, Egyptian or Oriental alabaster, travertine), is a translucent variety of calcite, composed largely of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ). The second and most widespread in Europe, used by Netherlandish sculptors as well, is a fine-grained, massive form of the mineral gypsum (CaSO 4 · 2H 2 O, hydrated calcium sulphate). Gypsum alabaster is relatively soft (Mohs 2) and easy to work, has a high visible light transmission factor and varies widely in colour. Contrary to the received opinion that it is snow-white, it also occurs in yellowish, light grey, green, red-brown and even black varieties. In the past, however, only light-coloured types were referred to as alabaster. The various types of alabaster also differ in their degree of crystallisation and in the forms and colours of their veining or clouding. Gypsum alabaster may be distinguished from the visually often similar but harder marble (Mohs 3-5) in its greater translucence and less cohesive structure. Gypsum alabaster may be worked using both stone-and woodcarving tools, but because of its brittleness, the latter have tended to be used more frequently. 3 It can be carved freehand, using tools such as chisels and knives; the use of a drill facilitates deep incisions and variation in the depth of relief. A lathe was used to make items such as vessels or baluster legs. Alabaster is suitable for a broad range of sculptural solutions: from sculpture in the round, through extensive chiaroscuro effects, virtuoso openwork forms and the subtle gradation of relief of varying depths to the painterly rilievo schiacciato. 4 The material is quite easy to polish, however sculptors must have recognised the importance of professional execution of this finishing work to the Detail fig 12 Unknown Mechelen (?) workshop, Tactus, after 1595 85

Eski Tunç Çağı'nda Kültepe İdolleri başlıklı bu çalışma kapsamında Kültepe'de Eski Tunç Çağı'na ait tabakalarda ele geçen idoller ile Kültepe kökenli olarak çeşitli müze ve özel koleksiyonlara dağılan toplam107 eser incelenmiştir. Çoğunluğu alabasterden olmak üzere taş ve kilden de üretilmiş olan örnekler o dönem insanlarının dini inanış ve geleneklerini yorumlamada önemli bir eser grubunu temsil etmektedir.Mevcut malzemeler ışığında Kültepe'de ele geçen örnekler ETÇ II ve III dönemlerine tarihlenmektedir. ETÇ I dönemine ait hiçbir idolün ele geçmemiş olması büyük olasılıkla, bu dönemin sınırlı alanlarda araştırılmasından kaynaklanmaktadır.Tipolojik değerlendirmeler ve farklı merkezlerle yapılan karşılaştırmalar ışığında eserlerin tamama yakınının Kültepe'ye özgü ünik tipleri yansıttığı görülmektedir. İdoller ile birlikte ele geçen alabaster heykelcikler ve sonraki dönemlerde görülen kurşun figürinler ve bunlara ait kalıpların da gösterdiği gibi Kültepe, bu tip eserlerin üretildiği önemli bir kült merkezi karakterine sahiptir.Kültepe idollerinin özgün karakterini en güçlü şekilde yansıtan grubu arkeoloji literatüründe Kültepe Tipi İdolleri ya da Kapadokya İdolleri olarak tanımlanan eserler oluşturmaktadır. Çok başlı örnekler şeklinde de görülen bu tip idoller gerek tasvir anlayışı gerekse bezeme motifleri ve teknikleri açısından bu dönemde Kültepe?de ulaşılan yüksek düzeyi göstermektedir. Bu grup içerisinde yer alan ve plastik biçimde işlenmiş başa sahip örnekler, bu dönemde, özellikle Orta Anadolu'da farklı merkezlerden de tanınan yerli Anadolu sanatının gelişmiş bir evresini yansıtmakla beraber, bu sanatın MÖ 2. Binyıla geçişini simgeleyen özgün eserleri oluşturmaktadır.

            Within the frame of this study entitled Kültepe Idols of the Early Bronze Age, a total number of 107 artifacts have been examined. Beside the excavation finds uncovered at Kültepe Early Bronze Age levels, several idols with Kültepe origin from museums and private collections are also included in the study. These artifacts, which were mostly produced of alabaster but also from stone and clay, represent one of the most important cultural assets in order to define and analyze the religious beliefs and traditions of the past societies.According to the present inventory, all examples from Kültepe are dated to the Early Bronze Age II and III periods. The reason behind the absence of any idols for the Early Bronze Age I period is most probably that, this period was investigated in very limited areas at the site. Typological examination and analogies based on artifacts from different sites show that the majority of the idols represent specific types unique to Kültepe. As shown by the alabaster statuettes found together with the idols and by the lead figurines and their moulds from later periods, Kültepe is an important religious center where these types of artifacts were produced.The unique character of Kültepe idols is strongly represented by the group of artifacts, which are labeled as Kültepe Type Idols or Cappadocian Idols. Also produced as multi-headed examples, these items represent the high artistic level of this period at Kültepe in terms of both description and decoration motifs and techniques. Especially the idols with plastically rendered heads represent unique examples of highly developed stage of native Anatolian art, which is also known from several other sites in Central Anatolia during the same period.

The artistic culture and art of the 18th century of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth have earned due recognition and been subject to first systematic studies only in the past 30 years. Considering the preliminary nature of the study, focus has been placed on the most important issues. The summary discusses the share of local deposits and workshops in the materials and masonry market of Central and Eastern Europe. The 18th century was clearly marked by the cosmopolitan movement, promoted in the circles of the royal courts of the Wettins and
Stanislaus II August Poniatowski, based on the French and Italian models of Versailles and Rome, respectively, whose principal sculptural medium was marmo bianco from Carrara. Due to the pressure exerted by that elitist centre in the capital city of Warsaw, local artists sought to imitate the material, which was expensive and difficult to access due to sea freight costs, in more affordable stones covered with a valorizing layer of lime or stucco mortar. As in the 17th century, the Baltic ports continued to be the outposts of West European influence, and local artists primarily used a wide
range of decorative rock, which was imported from Italia, France and Spain, both parts of the Netherlands, the Reich and England, as well as the Baltic isles. The influence of those centres reached as far as the central part of the Greater Poland Province, Kuyavia, and Mazovia. In Lesser Poland, Crown Rus’ and Podolia, there were numerous quarries of decorative rock and building stone, which thanks to favourable economic circumstances, project cooperation with professional architects, promotion methods developed in the 4th quarter of the 17th century, as well as a convenient transportation network (rafting down the Vistula in the Crown with connections to Rus’ and Lithuania), have preserved their autonomy until the 1780s, successfully competing with artists from the capital city and the Baltic centres mentioned above. A major stage in the professionalization of the quarrying and masonry markets was the establishment of the Royal Marble Factory in Dębnik and Chęciny in 1787. In the 18th century, domestic centres lost their position as exporters of sculptural materials and works. Apart from the import of luxurious marble from Italia and Western Europe, there was a substantial rise in regional purchases of Lower Silesian marbles and sandstones to Greater Poland, which was cut off from the main transportation
system due to the fact that the Vistula and the Warta basins were not connected.

La scelta artistica di un capitano di ventura: il ciclo arturiano di Frugarolo 25 Marianna Cuomo I plinti affrescati nella Campania altomedievale. La pittura decorativa tra VI e XI secolo 41 Serena Franzon Indossare la fede. Gioielli devozionali nel Quattrocento italiano 53 Martina Giulietti Il singolare fenomeno della produzione scultorea alabastrina nordeuropea nel tardo Medioevo 67 Claudia Sanna Caduta e redenzione: il ciclo scultoreo della chiesa di San Michele di Murato in Corsica (prima metà del XII sec.) 85 -PANEL B: FILOSOFIA -Niccolò Bonetti La teologia della creazione di Matteo d'Acquasparta 101 Raffaele Cioffi Alcune rielaborazioni dei generi agiografico e cristologico nell'Inghilterra anglosassone: il caso del Vercelli Book 113 Davide Penna Videre est esse. Quando la conoscenza diventa amore. Gnoseologia e ontologia in Guglielmo di Saint-Thierry : un osservatorio archeologico per la Toscana dei secoli VI-VIII 159 Assunta Campi La ceramica da fuoco dall'insediamento di Montella (AV). Tipologie del vasellame in uso in una comunità del IX secolo 177 Federica Cosenza Il sistema dei casali della campagna romana: problemi e metodologia d'indagine 189 Matteo Crocchianti I riusi di tipo funerario delle strutture e degli spazi di Età romana tra la Tarda Antichità e l'Alto Medioevo 205 Lorenzo Curatella Le necropoli basso medievali italiane 219 Elisa Del Galdo, Silvia Lusuardi Siena Le sepolture nella cattedrale paleocristiana e medievale di Luni (SP) 231 Elena Dellù, Federica Matteoni, Silvia Lusuardi Siena Il sepolcreto nella chiesa dei SS. Filippo e Giacomo di Nocetum (MI): dinamiche deposizionali tra altomedioevo ed età moderna 245 Iolanda Donnarumma Un impianto metallurgico del IX secolo dalla Rasola 1 del castello del Monte a Montella: la trincea 5/87 265 Alessia Frisetti La valle del Volturno nel Medioevo: insediamenti e realtà materiale (VIII-XII secolo) 279 Sabina Giuliano Il castello di Rocca Cilento (SA) nel circuito difensivo del territorio cilentano. Dall'indagine archeologica alla valorizzazione: prospettive di sviluppo 297 Lester Lonardo Castella et casalia. Insediamenti fortificati e rurali nella bassa valle del Calore: evidenze materiali e documentarie 307 Federica Matteoni Edilizia storica nella Provincia di Bergamo: considerazioni preliminari sulle tecniche costruttive, le dinamiche insediative e sociali 327 Alessandro Mortera Trasformazioni del paesaggio urbano nell'area del Foro Romano alle soglie del Medioevo: il caso della Basilica Aemilia 343 Luigi Quattrocchi Il fenomeno del mosaico funerario in Italia e isole maggiori nei secoli IV-VII 367

The excavations just south of Tel Yafo (see Dayan, Levy and Samora-Cohen, this volume) revealed a great deal of pottery and other small finds dating from various periods. This article presents the ceramic and stone finds that mainly came from burial grounds dating to the Persian, Roman and Byzantine periods. First, a typological study of the finds is presented according to the chronological strata at the site. Thereafter, observations on the distribution pattern of the finds are discussed according to the excavated units, followed by chronological conclusions.

A lack of written sources is a serious obstacle in the reconstruction of the medieval trade of art and art materials, and in the identification of artists, workshop locations, and trade routes. We use the isotopes of sulfur, oxygen, and strontium (S, O, Sr) present in gypsum alabaster to unambiguously link ancient European source quarries and areas to alabaster artworks produced over five centuries (12th– 17th) held by the Louvre museum in Paris and other European and American collections. Three principal alabaster production areas are identified, in central England, northern Spain, and a major, long-lived but little-documented alabaster trade radiating from the French Alps. The related trade routes are mostly fluvial, although terrestrial transport crossing the major river basin borders is also confirmed by historical sources. Our study also identifies recent artwork restoration using Italian alabaster and provides a robust geochemical framework for provenancing, including recognition of restoration and forgeries.