Greek and Roman marble statues were not set up in blazing white.
They were colourful. We are now on the track of the colours that
remain on sculptures in our collection. The research project now
under way in the Glyptotek is the first of its kind. The aim is
to identify, document and study traces of colour on our Greek
and Roman sculptures. Ancient sculpture was colourful Ancient
written sources, as well as the evidence found on the works
themselves, show that Greek and Roman sculptures were colourful.
They were ‘polychrome’, ‘many-coloured’. Works in stone were
painted and sculptures in bronze stood in the colour of the
metal, with details such as eyes, lips and teeth added in other
coloured materials: ivory, copper, amber and silver among them.
Statues were also made in silver, gold and ivory. And in Roman
Imperial times, sculptors began using coloured marbles. During
recent years, research on the polychromy of ancient sculpture
has increased. But our knowledge is still very limited. The
Glyptotek project a