Abstract
Despite the world-famous status of the two Giant Buddha statues of Bāmiyān, their painting techniques had not been investigated in detail before the Taliban destroyed the monuments in 2001. Small fragments of the clay modelling rescued from the debris showed that they were originally painted in bright colors. Examination carried out by the Technische Universität Munich between 2007 and 2013 (with an extension until 2016) focused on characterizing the materials and stratigraphy of the paint layers. Analyses also demonstrated that the Eastern Buddha is slightly older than the Western Buddha. The examined fragments represent a small proportion of the entire sculptural polychromy. Findings are partial but instructive. Phases of painting are best preserved on the outer garments. Among the identified pigments is the precious blue, ultramarine. Different organic binders were identified; egg may have used for the original paint layers. Despite their enormous dimensions, the statues were repainted at least twice between their creation in the sixth or seventh century and 977, when the region converted to Islam. While the sequence of paint layers can be reconstructed for probably large parts of the outer garments, this is not possible for other areas such as the undergarments, flesh tones and hair. These appear to have been completely destroyed in 2001.
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Acknowledgements
The work on-site was funded by UNESCO and ICOMOS, under the overall direction of Michael Petzet. Erwin Emmerling was the head of the project at the Technical University Munich, Chair of Conservation-Restoration, Art Technology and Conservation Science. Edmund Melzl and Bert Praxenthaler worked as conservators on-site and collected the fragments. The investigation included many scientists from different institutions and would not have been possible without their work. At the Technical University, Chair of Conservation, Stephanie Pfeffer, started the examination of the fragments and prepared the cross sections with the help of Vladimir Ruttner, Department of Engineering Geology; Christina Elsässer analysed selected cross sections. Maximilian Knidlberger identified many of the pigments with PLM. The analyses of binders involved many scientists, of whom only the responsible persons can be named here. GC/MS and FTIR: Ilaria Bonaduce and Anna Lluveras-Tenorio, Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa; Proteomics: Leila Birolo, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Napoli; Marine Cotte, European Synchroton Radiation, Grenoble: Synchrotron Radiation micro imaging techniques (SR-μ ATR-FTIR). Ursula Baumer, Doerner Institut Munich: FT-IR of the preparation layer on two samples. Analyses of inorganic components were done by Susanne Greiff, Roman Germanic Central Museum: µ-XRF analyses, Christian Gruber, Bayerisches Landesamt fuer Denkmalpflege, Munich: SEM-EDX, Vojislav Tucic, Bayerisches Landesamt fuer Denkmalpflege, Munich, and Klaus Rapp, Munich: XRD. Radiocarbon dating was performed by Marie-Joseé Nadeau, Pieter M. Grootes and Matthias Hüls, Leibnitz Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Isotope Research, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel. Many more scientists were also involved, for analyses of clay, hair, and plant material (see ICOMOS XIX). Lilla Russel Smith, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Süd, Südost und Zentralasien, Curator of Central Asian Art, kindly allowed close examination of the clay statues from Xinjiang in their collection.
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Blaensdorf, C. (2021). Materials and Techniques of the Polychromy of the Giant Buddha Statues in Bāmiyān. In: Aoki, S., et al. Conservation and Painting Techniques of Wall Paintings on the Ancient Silk Road. Cultural Heritage Science. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4161-6_9
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