Paint Pigment on Epigraphic Squeezes: A Case-Study from the Etruscological Collections of Olof August Danielsson

The practice of wet squeezing as a means of creating epigraphic facsimiles was widespread during the 19th and 20th centuries, but often negatively impacted the original inscriptions, particularly in cases where paint pigment was present. Depending on the precise method used, the pigment may transfer from the original to the squeeze. This article presents a case-study of four such squeezes made by Swedish Etruscologist Olof August Danielsson in 1886 of a funerary tile from Chiusi, as part of the preparatory work for Corpus Inscriptionum Etruscarum. This material makes it possible to study epigraphic polychromy in cases where pigment on the original has been damaged through squeezing. In addition, it illustrates how squeezes can give insight into the history of individual objects, as the squeezes, which show both the carving and the paint, cast light on the various proposed readings of the tile’s Etruscan inscription (CIE 1973/ET Cl 1.1478).