Clipeus with Diana (?) (inv. no. RA34h)

Description: The clipeus preserves the bust of a female figure clad in a draped chiton.
Her hair is composed of long, wavy locks, defined by deep drill grooves, arranged symmetrically on either side of the face from a central parting, and gathered at the nape of the neck. From this point, two long ringlets descend along the clavicles. Two small curls escape the hairstyle, both in front of and behind each ear.
The head is encircled by a crescent-shaped diadem, an element that has led scholars to propose an identification with the goddess Diana.

Analytical methods: VIS; UV; MAXRF
Imaging: Observation under a video microscope reveals the presence of brown on the border and background, and a white-yellow layer (54 points) on the skin (20 points). Over the latter, in the shadowy areas, such as the décolleté (14 points), a translucent gray layer is superimposed (fig. 14). Orange dots are documented on the lips and large traces of black in the hollows of the hair curls. The diadem (probably restored) shows no trace of color observable on the surface in the visible spectrum. Black lines are documented on the drapery, offset from the position of the fold in the sculpture.
Chemical analysis: MAXRF analysis of an area on the décolleté confirms the presence of pictorial layers. The sulfur signal corresponding to the white-yellow layer on the skin could document the use of gypsum, while the black of the drapery corresponds to the manganese and phosphorus signals and could document the use of vegetable black and manganese black.

Under painting traces: Black lines on the drape
Pigments: white calcium sulfate, ochres (red, orange, yellow), black vegetable sandyx
Binder: n.d.
Shading: Darker gradient
Metallic traces: no
Tools marks: Brush for preparatory lines (1.2mm)
Background colour: Brown
Apparent marble parts: no
Restorations: no
Polychromy technique: A preparatory layer of calcium sulfate was laid

Polychromy type: The use of different colors is intended to imitate the colored marbles of the opus sectile technique.

Bibliography: E. Neri, P. Capus, A. Dardenay, D. Strivay, Les sculptures de la villa de Chiragan (Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse): une premièere étude sur la polychromie, in E. Neri (ed.), Polychroma. The Meaning of Colours in Roman Sculptures, Silvana Editoriale, Cinisello B., 2024, pp. 256-279.