Unmasking the creative process of an ancient artist

An ancient Greek terracotta head that was discovered during underwater excavations has been analysed in exquisite detail by researchers in Russia. The findings, published in the journal Crystallography Reports, reveal that the object’s creator used a sophisticated sculpturing technique that involved moulding and attaching its features individually.

The life-sized terracotta head was found at the bottom of Kerch Bay in the eastern Crimea region during the construction of the Crimean Bridge in 2017. Initial studies of the artefact’s clay indicated that it was probably manufactured near Sinope, Turkey around 500 BC. However, monumental terracottas were not manufactured in Sinope in that era, so researchers continued looking into the provenance of the sculpture. These early analyses also showed that the head’s beard and hair were coloured with an iron manganese-based pigment, and its lips were coloured by ochre.

Uncovering details about how the ancient sculptor made their creation, however, required a deeper look into the artefact’s interior. Eduard Greshnikov at the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow and colleagues analysed the object using neutron and X-ray computed tomography. These techniques allowed the team to see deep within the layers of the head without damaging it.

“We could see elements of the ceramic sculpture that were not on the surface,” says Greshnikov. “By looking at the tomography, we could reconstruct the technique used to create the head.”

The team detected traces of resin on the surface of the object, suggesting that its sculptor may have used a cast to fashion the clay into the shape of a head. The three-dimensional scans also revealed contours known as seams, hinting that the head’s facial features were moulded and attached individually.

The seams and fingerprints in the beard suggested that it was moulded in two stages by hand, while the lips were probably sculpted in one sitting. The nose was also created in two stages, with the nostrils and wings formed first, followed by the tip, which was shaped out of a separate piece of clay.

When the team zoomed in on the eyes, they detected seams in the middle and base of the eyeball indicating that the eye sockets were filled with clay in two steps. The sharp protruding edges of the eyelids suggested that the sculptor used a sharp tool, such as a modelling stick, to fashion them.

The researchers also found lead fragments in the inner surface of the head, which may be the remnants of ties that fixed the object to a base. But whether the head was originally part of a larger statue, or a standalone ornament remains a mystery. “It’s a very unique ancient Greek terracotta,” says Greshnikov.

The next step for the team is to use other techniques, including mass spectrometry and neutron activation analysis, to uncover more details about from where the sculptor sourced their materials.