ISOTOPIC SOURCE DETERMINATION OF GREEK AND ROMAN MARBLE SCULPTURES IN THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON: RECENT ANALYSES

Our approach to the provenance of Greek and Roman sculptures has emphasized the identification of the quarry source of as many sculptures as possible using only minimally destructive techniques.  Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis may be the best single method for determining marble provenance, but the quarry source frequently cannot be unequivocally identified.  When employed in combination with X-ray diffraction, grain-size determination, stylistic analysis, literary information, and archaeological data, however, the identification of a single likely quarry was possible for 90% of the sculptures examined.

We report here on the analysis of 68 Greek and Roman marble sculptures in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to add to the 67 presented at ASMOSIA III.  Our results demonstrate the utility of these complementary methods, and highlight the effectiveness of integrated, interdisciplinary research efforts.  In many instances, initial identifications made by informed visual inspection were confirmed by the laboratory analyses; in others, the new identifications have considerable archaeological and art historical significance.