Event: WEDS TALKS: Last Dance: A Technical Study of Two Polychrome Tomb Figures

ABSTRACT: This presentation will focus on our technical study of two polychrome ceramic tomb figures of dancers dating to the Han dynasty (206 BCE-8 CE). These figures were temporarily stewarded at the Cotsen Institute as part of the Waystation Initiative and were returned to China in June. The purpose of the study was to identify the pigments used and how they were applied. To answer these questions we combined a series of analytical techniques, such as pXRF spectroscopy, polarized light microscopy, multiband imaging, and hyperspectral imaging, with art historical comparisons to related Han dynasty objects. This talk presents the results of our analysis and highlights the research possibilities that are available to students and faculty here at the Cotsen.

BIOS:Vanessa Muros is an archaeological conservator and director of the Experimental and Archaeological Sciences lab at the Cotsen.  

Moupi Mukhopadhyay joined the Conservation Center at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in August 2025 as the Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Research. She recently completed her Ph.D. in the Conservation of Material Culture at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a focus on pigment analysis of the outdoor wall paintings in Kerala, India. Prior to joining LACMA, she lectured at the UCLA/Getty Conservation department (Winter 2025) and also volunteered at the Experimental and Archaeological Sciences Laboratory (EASL) at the Cotsen Institute at UCLA (January-July 2025).

Dani Dsouza graduated from UCLA with a BA in Classical Civilization and has been volunteering in the EASL since January 2024. This fall she’ll be applying to grad school for Conservation and Art History.