Museums and Digital Culture: From Reality to Digitality in the Age of COVID-19

Museums increasingly recognize the need to address advances in digital culture which impact the expectations and needs of their audiences. Museum collections of real objects need to be presented both on their own premises and digitally online, especially as digital and social media becomes more and more influential in people’s everyday lives. From interdisciplinary perspectives across digital culture, art, and technology, we investigate these challenges magnified by advances in digital and computational media and culture, looking particularly at recent and relevant reports on changes in the ways museums interact with the public. We focus on human digital behavior, experience, and interaction in museums in the context of art, artists, and human engagement with art, using the observational perspectives of the authors as a basis for discussion. Our research shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many of the changes driving museum transformation, about which this paper presents a landscape view of its characteristics and challenges. Our evidence shows that museums will need to be more prepared than ever to adapt to unabated technological advances set in the midst of cultural and social revolution, now intrinsic to the digital landscape in which museums are inevitably connected and participating across the global digital ecosystem where they inevitably find themselves entrenched, underscoring the central importance of an inclusive integrative museum model between physical and digital reality.

Served on a Plate: A Late Medieval Ceramic Vessel with Sgraffito Decoration of a Sailing Ship from the Ropotamo Underwater Excavations, Black Sea, Bulgaria

We report on the interpretation of a late medieval Eastern Mediterranean glazed ceramic vessel with sgraffito decoration depicting a sailing ship. The artefact represents a chance find that was recovered outside the excavation area of the Ropotamo underwater archaeological excavations on the Southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in 2017. Fragments of late medieval sgraffito-decorated ceramics with depictions of sailing ships are rare. Complete examples can be considered exceptional. The Ropotamo artefact is of particular interest due to the freehand execution of its decoration, which suggests some understanding of contemporary ship proportions and seafaring practices on behalf of the artisan. The specimen is analyzed against similar artefacts and discussed in the context of maritime graffiti from the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean regions. The aim is to establish its potential for studying archaeological ceramics and evaluate the extent to which the decoration reflects aspects of Eastern Mediterranean maritime culture of the late Byzantine and early post-Byzantine periods. More research is required to appreciate the full potential of the Ropotamo artefact. A hypothesis for origin, dating and significance has been proposed. However, due to a shortage of published parallels, it may be subject to further refinements in the future in case more stratified similis are identified.

Understanding the Quadruple Flutes of Teotihuacan, Mexico

This paper presents the results of a study on the quadruple flutes (multiple pipes) from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Teotihuacan, Mexico, based on a thorough examination of the fragmented, restored and partly reconstructed archaeological finds and the manufacture and subsequent test of a series of playable reproductions with a refined reconstructive design. For the latter, organological features, such as the diameter, number and position of the fingerholes/tone holes and the length of the individual pipes of the restored finds are challenged and a new design is proposed that might be closer to the original construction of the Teotihuacan instruments. The study reveals a better understanding of the particular construction, acoustics and musical possibilities of the Teotihuacan quadruple flutes.

Non-Destructive In Situ Investigation of the Study of a Medieval Copper Alloy Door in Canosa di Puglia (Southern Italy)

This paper reports the analyses carried out on the medieval copper alloy door (1111–1118 AD) of the mausoleum of Boemondo d’Altavilla in Canosa di Puglia (Southern Italy). The studied door is the smallest medieval bronze door extant in Italy and, unlike the other Byzantine doors, was most probably made in Canosa di Puglia and not in Constantinople. Analyses were performed to assess the chemical composition of the alloy patinas using a portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) instrument designed at the University of Salento. The experimental results suggested that the two door leaves have the same chemical composition, even if they appear different in both style and size. Furthermore, the alloy used for the door is different from the other previously-analyzed Byzantine bronze doors. The obtained results can be used in the future to compare the chemical composition of other Byzantine doors in order to better understand the manufacture of these precious artifacts.

Challenges in the Valorization of the Funerary Heritage. Experiences in the Municipal Cemetery of Murcia (Spain)

The cemetery is a cultural landscape that represents themes of great relevance to interpret the structure of a society, roles, and hierarchies, as a reflection of its social life. The cemetery gathers a whole symbolic universe where local social histories are represented, beyond the history of art and the architectural aspect. As a heritage element, the cemetery shows us the socio-cultural changes of a territory: religious questioning, changes linked to the family, individualization of contemporary society or broader questions about socio-economic structure. This article presents the experience conducted during the last 6 years in the Cemetery “Nuestro Padre Jesús” in Murcia (Spain), through a collaboration among the Sociedad Murciana de Antropolgía (SOMA), the University of Murcia and the Municipality of Murcia, developing the project “Funerary Cultures”, whose main objective is to promote the heritage, cultural and historical values of the funerary culture. Specifically, as a result of this teaching innovation experience, the six thematic guides to visit the cemetery are presented as an experience of patrimonialization of elements of the cemetery and its consequent selection and consensus exercise to determine what was considered as heritage in the context of the cemetery. Finally, a proposal of a systematic process in the valuation and selection of the material objects in the cemetery is presented; this proposal allows us to establish a debate on what considerations to take into account when considering the relationship between cultural heritage and the cemetery as a cultural landscape in permanent transformation.

Mixed-Reality Demonstration and Training of Glassblowing

Traditional crafts exhibit tangible and intangible dimensions. Intangible dimensions include the practitioner’s gestural know-how in craft practice and have received smaller attention than tangible dimensions in digitization projects. This work presents the process of representation and presentation of the glasswork and is exemplified in the re-creation of a historical object. Following an articulated pipeline approach for data collection, annotation, the crafting process is represented visually and semantically in a way that can be meaningfully presented and utilized in craft training and preservation. The outcomes of the proposed approach were used to implement a Mixed Reality installation. The installation targets craft presentation through an exploration of the workspace, as well as craft training through an interactive experience where users re-enact gestures of a glass master holding a tool and receiving audiovisual feedback on the accuracy of their performance. Preliminary evaluation results show high acceptance of the installation and increased user interest.

On-Site Identification of Pottery with pXRF: An Example of European and Chinese Red Stonewares

The invention of European hard porcelain, which aims at imitating kaolin-containing white paste of Chinese porcelain, had been started by the development of the technology of “red porcelain”, so-called “Jaspisporzellan” by Johann Friedrich Böttger in the early-eighteenth century at Meissen (Saxony). The visual features of the earlier Böttger red stoneware were rather similar to the one produced in Yixing, China. The prominence of Böttger productions allowed the manufacturing to be expanded across Europe to different countries (Holland, England, France, etc.). In this study, the chemical characteristics of nine European unglazed objects produced in England, France, Russia, and Holland from the 17th to 19th century and 10 Chinese (unglazed or enameled) red stoneware have been studied by using an on-site characterization technique pXRF. The results were compared with the previous studies carried out on 25 unglazed, polished, and non-polished Böttger artefacts. This non-invasive, speedy technique allows a methodology to be created for distinguishing the technological differences related to the provenance and authenticity of the artefacts. The elemental measurements explicitly show the significant discrepancy of Dutch objects from the main group, which involves other European and Chinese ones. Both a Lambertus van Eenhoorn (Delft) statue and an Ary de Milde (Delft) teapot are distinguishable from other European red stoneware by the high content of iron and calcium and high content of titanium and potassium, respectively, found in their body compositions. An overall comparison was made between the measurements made at different times in order to evaluate the error range arising from the measurement procedure (e.g., energy resolution of other series of the same instrument model).

The Grouting Process as an Innovative Tool for the Assessment of the State of Preservation and Internal Features of the Holy Aedicule of the Holy Sepulchre

Grouting of historic structures is a common procedure in many restoration projects, as the masonry in many cases requires additional strengthening. However, grouting of complex historic structures can also provide important information regarding the construction phases and the state of preservation of the internal structure of a monument, which may not be visible by the naked eye. This requires an innovative approach in order to reveal these aspects. In the current research, the data recorded from the grouting of the Holy Aedicule are implemented and analyzed, in order to obtain information regarding the construction phases of the complex Holy Aedicule structure, as well as information regarding the state of preservation of the internal structure behind the marble cladding that encloses it. The correlation of detailed grouting data with geospatial information allows for a more detailed analysis, which, coupled with ground-penetrating radar prospections, can provide critical information regarding the features of the internal structure. The results highlight the importance of this correlation to reveal information that may not be obtained through a typical approach. Thus, this study allowed for the development of an evolved interdisciplinary approach for the management of grouting data in a 2.5D environment, which can be applied in other historic structures and buildings.

The Art of Everyday Objects: A Non-Invasive In Situ Investigation of Materials and Techniques of Italian Pop Art Paintings on Aluminium

Two paintings, made on aluminium support by Silvio Pasotti (among the major exponents of 1960s Italian pop art) were investigated in a totally non-invasive manner to identify the materials used by the artist. Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), visible reflectance spectroscopy, and spectrofluorimetry with visible excitation were exploited as molecular analysis techniques, which are particularly suitable to recognise also synthetic organic materials, such as pigments and binders. The effectiveness of this multi-analytical approach was demonstrated, leading to the identification of several synthetic organic pigments, both conventional and “special effect” ones, introduced during the first half of the 20th century, as well as some well-established inorganic ones. Combining FTIR results both in the medium and near IR ranges, considerations regarding the binders employed by the artist could also be made, suggesting the use of both nitrocellulose and acrylic paints. Imaging techniques, such as IR reflectography, false colour IR, UV induced fluorescence, and portable microscopy, were also used to achieve a better knowledge of the painting practice.

Multi-Camera Workflow Applied to a Cultural Heritage Building: Alhambra’s Torre de la Cautiva from the Inside

It is increasingly necessary to generate accessible and navigable digital representations of historical or heritage buildings. This article explains the workflow that was applied to create such a digital component for one of the least accessible areas of the Alhambra palace in Granada, the so-called Torre de la Cautiva (Tower of the Captive). The main goal of this process was to create affordable, photorealistic 3D models that contribute to the dissemination of cultural heritage, the decision making for its conservation and restoration, and public engagement and entertainment. With enough preparation, the time spent gathering data following a Structure from Motion (SfM) approach can be significantly reduced by using a multi-camera (low cost DSLR) photogrammetric strategy. Without the possibility of artificial lighting, it was essential to use RAW images and calibrate the color in the scene for material and texture characterization. Through processing, the amount of data was reduced by optimizing the model’s topology. Thus, a photorealistic result was obtained that could be managed and visualized in immersive Visual Reality (VR) environments, simulating different historical periods and environmental and lighting conditions. The potential of this method allows, with slight modifications, the creation of HBIMs and the adaptation to VR systems development, whose current visualization quality is below the resolution of actionable models in rendering engines.