Wall Painting Fragment

Grey pigment on white lime (calcite) plaster, with large multicolored pebble inclusions. Grey ground. This fragment mends (joins) with fragment 1940.97.79. Both fragments have beveled edges intended to evoke masonry draft lines (drafted margins). This scheme is consistent with what is generally termed the "Masonry Style" in Mediterranean wall painting, which gave molded plaster walls the appearance of stone architecture (ashlar masonry and marble veneering). Samples of the pigments and plaster were taken and analyzed in the Straus Center in 2023. The results found the grey to be made of the following: calcium carbonate, gypsum, Egyptian blue, and possibly carbon black. The plaster was identified as lime (calcite) plaster.