English Artists' Paper, Renaissance to Regency

Abstract

others. Electron spin resonance, carbon and oxygen stable isotope analysis, trace element analysis, clay mineralogy, cathodoluminescence and other petrographic techniques are all discussed and utilized in this volume, often in conjunction with one another. Sandstones, limestones and especially marbles from a range of sites and possible quarry sources have been subjected to a barrage of tests, with more or less clear-cut results. Individually, the papers discussing the application of these methods to individual 'problem' stones are interesting and generally well-presented and clear, but it would have been very nice to have had an overview paper discussing some of the broader issues raised by these studies and pointing a clear way forward. For non-scientists to make the most of the information provided by such scientific tests there needs to be a general awareness of their advantages and limitations, which an overview paper could usefully provide. As well as provenance studies, the volume contains several other themes linking the material and cultural aspects of ancient stone. One of the most interesting papers (by Janet Burnett Grossman and Jeff P. Marsh) addresses the authenticity of a classical Attic funerary monument in the J. Paul Getty Museum, combining art historical interpretations of stylistic features with technical information on the stone types and their history using stable isotopes and UV-visible fluorescence. The paper brings together disparate evidence to provide a plausible hypothesis that the monument is at best a grossly reworked original and at worst a forgery. Another fascinating paper (by Joan S. Schneider) employs petrographic analyses of milling stones used by indigenous peoples in the American West to infer what the main plant staples in their diet were. One paper deals with issues of the weathering of ancient stone, surely a theme which could merit further interdisciplinary treatment in future ASMOSIA meetings? BOOK REVIEWS 143

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