STABLE CARBON AND OXYGEN ISOTOPE SOURCE TRACING OF MARBLE SCULPTURES IN THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON AND THE SACKLER MUSEUM, HARVARD

This paper reports work in progress to determine the quarry sources of marble sculptures in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) and the Arthur M Sackler Museum, Harvard University. It results from a long-term collaboration, originally suggested by David Mitten of Harvard, of a group of researchers who include archaeology, art history, archaeological science, and geochemistry among their interests. We have measured the ratios of stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in eighty-three Greek and Roman sculptures in the Museum of Fine Arts (sixty-seven) and the Sackler Museum (sixteen) and compared the results with known isotopic data on marble sources of the Mediterranean. Additional analyses included mineralogical observation and X-ray diffractometry. These data allow us to evaluate the efficacy of using only two variables for source determination (carbon and oxygen isotope ratios), as opposed to using three or more. They also allow us to suggest an approach to the problem of source identification which minimizes cost and sample size, while raising the potential success rate of unequivocal attribution to at least 80-90%.