engleski

CROATIAN APOXIOMENOS – METAL COMPOSITION AND LEAD PROVENANCE STUDY

A bronze statue of the athlete with a strigil - the Apoxiomenos - was discovered at the seabed of the North Adriatic in 1999. The statue was complete, with the majority of the surface being covered with a layer of corrosion products and substantial quantities of organic limestone. These deposits protected the bronze from electro-chemical deterioration, although the back of the statue, which was buried in the sand, was to a large extent corroded. After the slow desalination process, the restoration and conservation process started in October 2000, as a joint project between Croatian Conservation Institute (HRZ), Zagreb and Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD), Florence. OPD has also performed comprehensive investigations of the statue by many physical and chemical methods [1]. The restoration process was completed in 2005 when the statue was exhibited for the first time. Among the large number of analyses performed during restoration by OPD [1], probably the most important was 14C AMS carbon dating of organic material (seeds) found inside of the statue. According to results of three samples, the sample age is between 100 B.C and 250 A.D. which proved the high historical value and importance of this statue. However, many questions about the origin of the statue, called now the Croatian Apoxiomenos, remained still to be resolved. Our more recent work on the analysis of bronze composition that is presented here will try to reveal part of the mystery of this exceptional ancient work of art.

PIXE; lead isotope; apoxiomenos

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