A NEW SMALL SCALE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC (CT) SYSTEM FOR MUSEUM USE: CASE STUDY OF A ROMAN BRONZE STATUE OF EROS

Ongoing collaborations between the Department of Physics of the University of Bologna, the Getty Conservation Institute, and other American and European institutions have led to the development of an experimental computed tomography system. The system employs a standard industrial X-ray source found in many museum laboratories, a high contrast detector as well as versatile control and reconstruction software. Small scale tests performed over the last few years culminated in the scanning of the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Roman bronze Eros statue dating to the 1st century A.D. This unique 65cm tall sculpture is one of the few large scale bronzes to be completely CT imaged and three-dimensionally reconstructed. The acquired data set not only allowed horizontal slicing, but enabled sectioning at any user-specified angle. The interior of the statue was imaged non-destructively providing new insights into bronze casting methods such as joins, wall thicknesses, flaws and repairs. Images acquired with the new system answered several specific technological questions not possible to address through standard radiography. The tomographic system’s hardware, software, and operation are described and applications of the system to the art conservation field are assessed.