Exhibition Gods in Color - object text 2016 SAM 53

Lion

(From Greece (Loutraki, near Corinth), c. 550 BC, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen)

The Lion was one of two probably flanking the entrance to a tomb or sanctuary near Corinth. The
features of the lion’s face were articulated schematically with painted red dots and lines. Carefully
arranged rows of dots show where the long hairs originated. Sinuous lines mark the skin folds that
appear because of the open mouth and amplify the appearance of aggression. The eyebrows are
similarly accentuated and intensify the watchful gaze.

Numerous pigment traces on its face and body allow accurate reconstruction of the color scheme:
azurite in the mane’s strands and the tuft of the tail; red ochre in the iris of the eye, in the fur of
skin and the muzzle. The remains of the yellow fur color give evidence of the use of iron oxide. The
blue mane, painted with expensive azurite, is reminiscent of the coloring used for the representation
of Egyptian sphinxes, or images of pharaos with lion bodies. The blue mane alludes to the blue hair
wigs used by rulers and gods. Intensive and unnatural color is also used in the north frieze of the
Siphnian treasury at Delphi to emphasize the pair of lions that draw the chariot of Themis.

Vinzenz Brinkmann & Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann

Color reconstruction of a lion (from Loutraki)
(2005/2012)
Plaster cast, natural pigments in egg tempera, H. 60 cm
Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung (Polychromy Research Project), Frankfurt am Main, Inv. ###

Scientific methods applied:

Ultraviolet Fluorescence (Schott KV 418)
Ultraviolet Reflectography (Schott UG1 or Schott BG12)
Visual Light Stereo Microscopy (10-50x, Zeiss & Olympus)
Raking Light (Schott KL1500)
Photography in visible light, black & white
Photography in visible light, full color
Macro Photography (via Microscope or Macro lenses)
UV-VIS Absorption Spectroscopy

Scientific interpretation:
Vinzenz Brinkmann, Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann, Heinrich Piening

Materials applied for reconstruction:

Blue: azurite
Exhibition Gods in Color - object text 2016 SAM 53

Red: red ochre, calcite

Yellow: golden ochre, calcite
Black: vine black
Applied pigments calibrated in chromatography on marble stucco, plaster cast (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen),
color application assisted by Claudia Amthor, Elisa Jubert.