
Follow curator Nick, conservator Dana and conservation scientist Lucia on their journey to unravel the mysteries of this fascinating object. Made of a rare plant resin called mopa mopa and decorated with a technique known as Barniz de Pasto, the intricate piece is unlike anything else in our collection.
When it was acquired in 2015, a routine x-ray revealed a remarkable discovery: a vivid skeleton of death, or memento mori, lay hidden beneath a layer of paint, applied some 300 years after it was made.
Watch as the overpaint is finally removed to reveal the skeleton in all his glory, along with a cryptic message – the final part of the puzzle.
- 00:00 A secret skeleton
- 01:27 Colombian plant and animal life
- 02:03 What is mopa mopa?
- 04:14 European sea-monster or Andean deity?
- 05:10 Science conservation discoveries
- 06:08 Alterations and repairs
- 07:30 X-raying the cabinet lid
- 08:02 Micro computer tomography and XRF mapping
- 10:02 Memento mori
- 13:04 The last reveal – removing the overpaint
- 16:30 Lettering and the skeleton appear
- 17:34 The final puzzle – cracking the code
Comments
0 comment