Hilary Becker

Binghamton University, Department of Middle Eastern and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Faculty Member

Binghamton University, Classical and Near Eastern Studies, Faculty Member

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Address: Department of Middle Eastern and Ancient Mediterranean Studies
Binghamton University - SUNY
LT 510 - P.O. Box 6000
Binghamton NY 13902-6000 U.S.A.

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Books by Hilary Becker

Commerce in color: the mechanics of the Roman pigment trade (manuscript in preparation).

Votives, Places and Rituals in Etruscan Religion. Studies in Honour of Jean MacIntosh Turfa (2009)

by Margarita Gleba and Hilary Becker

Etruscans were deemed “the most religious of men” by their Roman successors and it is hardly surp... more Etruscans were deemed “the most religious of men” by their Roman successors and it is hardly surprising that the topic of Etruscan religion has been explored for some time now. This volume offers a contribution to the continued study of Etruscan religion and daily life, by focusing on the less explored issue of ritual. Ritual is approached through fourteen case studies, considering mortuary customs, votive rituals and other religious and daily life practices. The book gathers new material, interpretations and approaches to the less emphasized areas of Etruscan religion, especially its votive aspects, based on archaeological and epigraphic sources.

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Dissertation: Production and Consumption in North Etruria during the Archaic and Classical Periods. The World of Lars Porsenna. Advisor, Nicola Terrenato. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. M.A. in Classical Archaeology

Talks by Hilary Becker

"A Roman buyers guide to pigments," lecture and panel discussion for the exhibit opening of “Ancient Color” at the Kelsey Museum, University of Michigan.

March 20, 2019.

“Exploring ancient and modern pigment technologies in the classroom,” for the session, Materials matter: design thinking as pedagogical interface between science, technology and art. Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Annual Meeting Milan 2019.

Will contribute electronically. October 26, 2019. Panel organized by Gökhan Ersan.

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H. Becker, T. Rutkowski, V. G. Ersan, P. Smart, V. Imbruce, M. Poliks, and L. Piper. “Material Matter: Exploring ancient pigments in the classroom,” at the symposium, “Archaeological Chemistry: Art and Archaeology in the Ancient and Medieval World.”

Conference of the American Chemical Society. Orlando, Fl. March 31st, 2019.

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“Mappatura dei colori dell'impero romano: l'indagine scientifica sul commercio romano dei pigmenti,” for the conference “Pareti Dipinte. Dallo scavo alla valorizzazione.” Association Internationale pour la peinture murale antique. (AIPMA) XIV,

organized by A. Coralini. Naples. September 9th-13th, 2019.

H. Becker and Monica Ceci (Soprintendenza di Roma Capitale). “Le botteghe dei colori e la scelta dei pigmenti nel mondo romano.” Picta Fragmenta. Rileggendo La Pittura Vesuviana. National Archaeological Museum. Naples, Italy. September 12th-16th, 2018.

“Mapping the colors of the Roman empire: the scientific investigation of the Roman trade in pigments,” International Conference on Techniques, Measurements & Materials in Art & Archaeology 2018. December 11th, 2018. Jerusalem, Israel.

“Ars pigmentorum: Roman painters and their knowledge of the properties of pigments.”, “Archaeological Chemistry: Art and Archaeology in the Ancient and Medieval World.” Conference of the American Chemical Society. Orlando, Fl. April 1st, 2019.

Roman pigments and the trade in naturally sourced products

Pigments were used to decorate both wealthy and common houses in ancient Rome but the mechanisms ... more Pigments were used to decorate both wealthy and common houses in ancient Rome but the mechanisms by which raw pigments were collected, traded, and sold have never been studied. A network developed to facilitate the importation of pigments from across a wide expanse of the Roman empire. While the ochres present in a shop in Rome might be locally and regionally sourced, the presence of pigments like madder lake or cinnabar are the result of long chains of commercial transactions, which served to transport these materials to central Italy from across the empire. This extensive network provided consumers of pigments with the choice of a range of colors. Artists in Roman Egypt used Spanish red lead on certain “red shroud mummies” rather than local red pigments. Various white pigments were imported and used, and while the differences between each were not necessarily detectable with the naked eye, tradesmen kept careful track of them since their qualitative differences (e.g. luminosity) translated to differences in price. An exploration of the pigment trade establishes a cross-section of the larger Roman economy at work. Ultimately the colors chosen for a Roman fresco reflect the vital trade of the larger Roman empire on one’s walls.

"Pigment Prices: Costs, Fraud, and the Concerns of Roman Pigmentarii”

Little is known about the supply industry that allowed painters to create Roman frescoes. Pigme... more Little is known about the supply industry that allowed painters to create Roman frescoes. Pigmentarii were traders that sold pigments and other tools needed by fresco artists. These very supplies offer an unusual opportunity to explore how the use of color in the Roman world furnished opportunities to display conspicuous consumption or to save money. Two valuable sources, which bookend the imperial period, Pliny the Elder and the Price Edict of Diocletian, allow us to look carefully at the prices for ancient pigments, as well supply and demand in the Roman world.
In addition, certain commercial conventions developed that stated who could buy the more expensive pigments (like cinnabar and lapis lazuli). These conventions were most likely developed to protect all of the stakeholders in the Roman painting industry: pigmentarii, artists, and those who commissioned frescoes. Both artists and unscrupulous pigmentarii had incentives to adulterate more expensive pigments. For instance, the value of one pound of cinnabar was equivalent to 56 pounds of red ochre. There was indeed ancient concern that profit-minded people might adulterate or even fake painting and other artists’ supplies. For this reason, the ancient Roman buyer had recourse to a number of preventative measures, rough chemical tests, and other sensory checks which might help them determine whether certain pigments and other supplies had been correctly labeled. Thus the pigment industry, long neglected, offers an opportunity to understand the commercial concerns of Roman artists as they sought to get the correct products.

“Communal standards: Coinage and weight systems in Etruria” at the research workshop, “Monetization in the Ancient World”.

“The Changing Face of South Etruria: the Romanization of infrastructure at Caere and Tarquinia,” in the panel “New synergies? The impact of the Roman conquest of Italy on settlement and society” at the Eleventh Roman Archaeology Conference (RAC).

After the fall of Veii, cities such as Caere, Tarquinia and Vulci vacillated between peace, cauti... more After the fall of Veii, cities such as Caere, Tarquinia and Vulci vacillated between peace, cautious truce, to full-out war and even the succession of land to Rome. This paper seeks to map the experience of Romanization in south Etruria during the Hellenistic period. To seek this out, we will look in particular at archaeological and epigraphic evidence to explore how the mechanisms of daily life in Etruria were impacted by Rome’s encroaching presence, in the areas of commerce,
trade, and transport, coinage, governance, and warfare. The frescoes of the Tomb of Giglioli at Tarquinia, and its walls decorated with armor, will provide one of the valuable case studies used in this examination.

“Boundaries and integration: the social, political, and sacral mechanics of Etruscan markets,” at “Frontiers in the Iron Age Archaeology of Europe” hosted by Magdalene College and the McDonald Institute.

Roman Rainbow: Investigation of Ancient Pigments by Portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Polarized Light Microscopy.”

Poster presented by Ruth Beeston

“The iconography of a life in arms: the Etruscan soldier at war, at home, and at the tomb.”

“A Roman Rainbow: a Chemical and Archaeological Investigation of an Ancient Pigment Shop.” Talk delivered with Dr. Ruth Beeston (Chemistry, Davidson College)

Colors and Commerce: Pigment Shops in the Ancient World

The treatises of Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder both carefully discuss the sources of pigments in... more The treatises of Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder both carefully discuss the sources of pigments in antiquity, taking pains to detail both the origin and practical use of different types. This textual evidence, combined with current chemical analysis studies of frescoes from Roman sites, has added much to our understanding of the world of Roman painters but questions remain regarding the process by which painters obtained raw pigments for their craft.
In 1974 a pigment shop dating to the middle Imperial period was found within the sacred precinct of the Temples of Fortuna and Mater Matuta (Area Sacra di S. Omobono) in Rome. This pigment shop offers an opportunity to revisit issues of painters and their raw materials, as well as issues connected to Imperial tabernae. Since it appears that a variety of pigments were marketed together in one shop, this in turn prompts us to think about the commercial organization behind the pigment industry and just how these pigments were collected, sold, and even used. Such an organization is hinted at by a mass of pigment found at Pompeii which had been stamped with the production and/or merchant mark “Attioru(m)”. Other examples of paint shops from antiquity will be considered, as well as other evidence that might shed light on the commerce in pigments and the artists that used them. This paper offers an opportunity both to contextualize the supply-side economy of Roman painting and to examine the acquisition and distribution of raw materials within the Roman economic network.

Group identity and the preservation of kinship-based memory in Etruria

Hilary Becker

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