The aim of the project is to catalogue the approximately 650 historically valuable plaster casts from the collection of the University Leipzig that were preserved after the war and to make them available for teaching and research.
The aim is to re-inventory the collection, which has been overdue for decades, and to make it easily accessible to other classical scholars through the use of electronic media. In addition to cleaning and restoring the plaster casts, the restoration of the plaster collection will include the recovery of the authentic plaster surface by removing old coats of paint. Interdisciplinary cooperation with natural science disciplines will be sought when analysing the paint coatings and developing suitable methods for their removal.
Literature:
- H.-U. Cain, Gipsabgüsse. Zur Geschichte ihrer Wertschätzung, in: Realität und Bedeutung der Dinge im zeitlichen Wandel. Werkstoffe: ihre Gestaltung und ihre Funktion, Akten der interdisziplinären Tagung Nürnberg 6.-8.10.1993, Anzeiger des Germanischen Nationalmuseums 1995, 200-215 Abb. 1-13.
- H.-P. Müller, Das Akademische Gypsmuseum. Zur Geschichte einer vergessenen Skulpturensammlung, in: Leipziger Blätter 27 (1995) 56-59
- H.-U. Cain, Interpretierende Linien und das Ethos eines ehrlichen weißen Gipses, in: Faszination der Linie. Griechische Zeichenkunst auf dem Weg von Neapel nach Europa, hg. v. H.-U. Cain - H.-P. Müller - St. Schmidt, Ausstellungskatalog Antikenmuseum der Universität Leipzig 2004/05 (Leipzig 2004) 33-36. 58 (Lit.) Abb. 28-30.
- H.-U. Cain, Arbeiten in Gips. Zu einer schöpferischen Methode der Archäologie, in: H.-U. Cain (Hrsg.), AUREA AETAS. Die Blütezeit des Leipziger Antikenmuseums zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts, Begleitheft zu einer Sonderausstellung des Antikenmuseums anlässlich des 600-jährigen Jubiläums der Universität Leipzig 2009 (Leipzig 2009) 16-21 Abb. 11-18.
- E. Bazzechi – J. Lang (Hrsg.), Una memoria fragile? Collezioni di calchi in gesso e il loro ruolo di eredate storica tra passato e presente/ Fragile Erinnerung? Sammlungen von Gipsabgüssen als historisches Erbe in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart (Leipzig 2021).
Current research projects
FRAGILE MODELS? COLLECTIONS OF HISTORICAL PLASTER CASTS AS DIALOGUE SPACES OF THE PRESENT
The discussion about European guiding principles has recently gained new momentum. In view of current crisis phenomena, pan-European ideas are often giving way to national points of reference. In this situation, the question arises as to how antiquity, which has long been used as a reference, can still be a point of reference for Europe today. Collections of historical plaster casts are the starting point for this question, as they bring together in one place the most diverse models of European art and cultural history, which have been regarded as timeless since the age of classicism and in some cases still are today, while their originals are scattered throughout Europe today. Such collections are mostly used as places of learning. However, beyond this function, they also have potential as places of communication. This is because the objects themselves are testimonies to the history that has taken place in them. This becomes particularly
illustrated by the damage caused, the consequences of which are still recognisable today.
The project focuses on the interface between the conservation of historical plaster casts as European heritage and the perspectives of such collections as places of dialogue in a European context. The starting point is the collections at the universities in Leipzig and Palermo, which were primarily assembled in the 19th century for archaeological teaching and research. Due to comparable fates in terms of the damage to their collections as a result of war and a lack of presence in the public consciousness, they have a common frame of reference with regard to the challenges they face. They can be used to discuss physical deterioration processes of cultural heritage from an interdisciplinary, international perspective. The main project objectives were the transfer of theory and practice on conservation and restoration techniques, a transfer of ideas on the potential of collections of historical casts
as professional and social dialogue spaces and the integration of students into an international and interdisciplinary research environment. The results are available in a bilingual German-Italian publication:
- E. Bazzechi – J. Lang (Hrsg.), Una memoria fragile? Collezioni di calchi in gesso e il loro ruolo di eredate storica tra passato e presente/ Fragile Erinnerung? Sammlungen von Gipsabgüssen als historisches Erbe in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart (Leipzig 2021).
Project management: Elisa Bazzechi, Jörn Lang
University dialogue with Southern Europe 2019/2020, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD.
FROM EXPANSIVE PLASTER CASTS TO DIGITAL POINT CLOUDS: DOCUMENTATION AND VISUALISATION OF ANCIENT SCULPTURE USING THE EXAMPLE OF THE TORO FARNESE IN THE CAST COLLECTION OF THE ANTIKENMUSEUM LEIPZIG
Project management: Jörn Lang, Katharina Meinecke
Since its discovery in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome in 1545, the almost four metre high sculptural group of the so-called Toro Farnese has been one of the most spectacular examples of ancient sculpture. Carved in the Severan period (early 3rd century AD) from a single block of marble, it is a stone copy of a famous Hellenistic work that has not survived. The collection of casts in the Antikenmuseum at the University of Leipzig has had one of the few moulds of this group since the late 19th century. The director at the time, Johannes Overbeck, acquired it as a centrepiece for the new display of casts in the university's main building on Augustusplatz. Since the 1960s, however, it has been in storage, dismantled into its approximately 50 individual parts, some of which are broken or damaged. As it is not possible to rebuild it in the existing rooms due to its size, the versatile potential of this historically important group cannot currently be utilised for either research or teaching purposes. This is exemplary of the challenges facing the Leipzig collection with its approximately 800 plaster casts, many of which are over 150 years old. The plaster cast of the Toro Farnese is therefore to be recreated as a virtual three-dimensional model as part of the project.
The aim is to use the example of the Toro Farnese to further develop methods for the digital documentation of historical casts of ancient sculptures in order to make the casts usable for research and teaching worldwide and sustainably beyond their storage rooms. The entire process, from the restoration preparation of the individual components of the cast, to the digital documentation and the long-term storage and use of the digital copies for archaeological and restoration issues, will be optimised to create a model. The project also represents a first step towards the complete digitalisation of the nationally significant collection of Leipzig casts. New technologies will be used for archaeological questions and the processes themselves will be further developed in an application-oriented manner.
Project duration: 2022-2025, funded by the Sächsische Aufbaubank.
Further information is available at the following link
