Statue of a dolphin (inv. no. 24-03-26-505)

Description: The statue fragment can be traced back to a dolphin with a canal in its mouth: it probably housed a metal tube that made it an element of a fountain in thermal baths.

Typology: Ideal sculpture
Definition: Statue of a dolphin (inv. no. 24-03-26-505)
Collection: Thugga, reserves.
Inventory number: 24-03-26-505
Provenance: The statue was found in the northern area of the Aïn Doura Baths, in Thugga.
Date: End of the 2nd c. CE
Material: White marble.
Dimensions: Height: 31 cm.

Analytical methods: VIS; UV; MO VIS; MO UV
Autoptic examination: The statue has numerous traces of color visible to the naked eye.
Imaging: Traces of color visible to the naked eye were analyzed microscopically at 21 analysis points.

Under painting traces: no
Pigments: Red, yellow, blue, green.
Binder: n.d.
Stratigraphy: Directly on the marble.
Shading: Blue dots.
Metallic traces: no
Tools marks: no
Background colour: no
Apparent marble parts: no
Restorations: no
Polychromy technique: The colours, bright and with different shades, are laid directly on marble. The dolphin's body shows traces of bright yellow, green for its scales and bright red for its crest and fins. A mixture of white, blue and orange grains is found at the edge of the eye.

Anthropomorphic/realistic: Realistic rendering.
Polychromy type: The palette used, based on shades of yellow, green and red, finds comparisons in frescoes and African mosaics from the 3rd and 4th centuries CE (see fig. 3).