Study Suggests Etruscan Statue's Black Coating May Be Original

A bronze statue of an Etruscan man wearing a toga found in 1567 may have been deliberately turned black some 2,200 years ago, according to the Greek Reporter. Historical accounts of the discovery indicate that the sculpture was green when it was unearthed. It had been previously thought that the statue, known as the Arringatore ("Orator") of Pila, turned black over time through a natural corrosion process. Conservators, including Salvatore Siano of the Institute of Applied Physics "Nello Carrara" and Sonia Mugnaini of the University of Siena, removed brown coatings on the statue, and found smooth, nearly black areas on...