A collection of 2,500-year-old clay impressions (also known as letter-bulla) bearing the seal of Aršāma, a Persian prince and regional governor of the Achaemenid Empire, is the earliest group of objects to be recorded by ARCHiOx. The impression was made by an intricately carved tool, rolled over the surface of seven small unfired clay pieces – just over four centimetres in width.
This project forms part of the wider restoration of Cardinal Tavera’s sepulchre and was conceived as a collaboration between Factum Foundation and the Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli. The white marble sepulchre was the final commission of the sculptor Alonso Berruguete – it was made in 1552 for the Hospital of San Juan Batista (better known as the Hospital Tavera) in Toledo, Spain.
After recording, the data for each fragment was converted into a digital model. Both photogrammetry and structured light scanning operate by identifying millions of separate points on the surface of an object and visualising the whole as a point cloud. The points are then joined together to create a coherent object with a closed surface.
6th March 2020 marked the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death and a number of exhibitions in this centenary year have focused on re-examining the importance of one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance.
Cristo Resucitado, the risen Christ, is one of the few sculptures made by Domínikos Theotokópoulos, better known as El Greco. The small wooden figure is displayed in a tabernacle, also crafted by El Greco, within the Hospital de Tavera, where it sits on the high altar overlooking Tavera’s sepulchre.
