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Document Details :

Title: Distinguishing Colours
Subtitle: A Colorimetric Approach to Architectural Terracottas from Satricum (Le Ferriere, Latina)
Author(s): KNOOP, Riemer
Journal: BABESCH
Volume: 88    Date: 2013   
Pages: 89-98
DOI: 10.2143/BAB.88.0.2987076

Abstract :
The colours of the fired clays of architectural terracottas are among their most obvious characteristics. Breaking easily and being susceptible to wear and tear, they often appear without recognizable shape or form. The question is therefore frequently asked whether it is possible to classify an unadorned architectural terracotta fragment on the basis of the colour of its fired fabric alone. A corpus of pre-Roman material from the acropolis of the ancient city of Satricum (Le Ferriere, province of Latina, Italy) is used to consider this method of visual decision-making in terracotta classification, thanks to the categorical way in which colorimetric observations have been made for this large volume of finds. The use of Munsell colour classifications within macroscopic fabric descriptions is reassessed in light of the history of analytical study of this corpus of terracotta material.

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