Filed under: News, Technology | Tags: 3D laser scanning confocal microscopy, Attic pottery, Contour line, Greek, Greek vase, Magna Graecia, Red-figure vase, red-figure vases, Reflectance transformation imaging (RTI), relief line, RTI, Vase painting
Paula Artal-Isbrand and Philip Klausmeyer recently published an article in the Studies in Conservation journal.
Entitled “Evaluation of the relief line and the contour line on Greek red-figure vases using reflectance transformation imaging and three-dimensional laser scanning confocal microscopy,” the article examines “…the relief and contour lines on a group of ancient Greek red-figure vases and vase fragments.”
Paula and Philip, both of the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, describe how they deployed “… two surface examination methods – reflectance transformation imaging and three-dimensional laser scanning confocal microscopy” to “… characterize the lines and answer questions regarding tools, techniques, and production sequence used by Greek vase painters.”
Their work is interesting and empirical, with numerous examples that yield detailed observations about the tools and techniques used to create the decorative features on vases and vase fragments, with a particular emphasis on relief and contour lines.
Download the entire PDF:
Filed under: Commentary, News, Technology | Tags: Antikythera Mechanism, PTM, RTI
Tom Malzbender imaging a piece from the Antikythera Mechanism
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Tom Malzbender has joined the Cultural Heritage Imaging Board of Directors!
Tom is a long-time friend of CHI and has been an adviser and collaborator on many projects. Tom is best known as the co-inventor (with Dan Gelb) of Polynomial Texture Mapping (PTM) in 2001 while he was at HP Labs. PTM is the first form of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI).
Tom has had a long research career in the fields of computer graphics and computer vision as demonstrated by his many published papers. He has frequently applied this work to cultural heritage material, most notably as part of the team that deciphered the Antikythera Mechanism. This groundbreaking work was featured in the NOVA documentary “Ancient Computer”
Welcome Tom!
Filed under: Commentary, News, Training | Tags: glossary of terms, photographic terms, technical terms
Over the years we have received a lot of requests for a glossary of terms used in RTI, and we are happy to announce that a new “Glossary of Photographic and Technical Terms for RTI” is available on our website! It includes photographic terms you need to know for RTI, like “Depth of Field,” “Color Temperature,” and “Aperture.” Also included are technical terms from computer graphics and computer vision like “BRDF,” “Fitting Algorithm,” and “Phong Lighting Model.” We have included terms for file formats like DNG, XMP and TIFF, along with basics in multi-spectral imaging such as “Infrared” and “Ultraviolet-induced Visible Fluorescence Photography.” We also included terms related to keeping good process history in your RTI work, including “Digital Lab Notebook,” “ICOM-CIDOC,” and “Empirical Provenance.” We did our best to adapt the definitions for RTI users, and we also included a few notes and recommendations on photographic settings.
As always with our work at CHI, this project was a collaboration. Lots of folks offered terms they wanted to see defined, and some provided definitions. We especially want to thank Tom Malzbender for definitions for many of the technical terms; Yosi R-Pozeilov for sharing his extensive glossary of photographic terms; and technical writer Judy Bogart for pulling it all together. And finally, we had a wee bit of funding for this work from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, as part of a larger grant project in their 21st Century Museum Professionals grants. Much of the work was done through volunteer efforts.
If you value this kind of documentation, along with the free open source RTI software, please consider making a donation to help support it.
Cultural Heritage Imaging 