Conservators have completed a detailed restoration of two ancient Greek vessels housed at a museum in Naples, uncovering decades of hidden repair work in the process.
The project centered on a water jar known as a hydria and a wine jug, or oinochoe, and revealed how earlier restorers reshaped the pieces according to the tastes of private collectors over a century ago. Both objects belong to the Spinelli Collection, unearthed between 1878 and 1886 during excavations at the ancient site of Suessula in the Campania region of southern Italy.
They are now at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, where Gandi Wei of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture and Mariateresa Operretto of the museum led conservation efforts. Their findings were published in the Journal of International Ceramic Studies.
Scans uncover decades of hidden repairs and an excess of painting
When the vessels arrived for study, both bore clear signs of age along with traces of earlier restoration attempts. The hydria stood structurally sound, with no major cracks, but its surface was dulled by a chalky film, dark stains, and old paint applied to mimic a weathered, buried appearance. The oinochoe, on the other hand, was in far worse condition, held together loosely by degraded glue and strips of tape, with a wide crack.
To separate original material from later additions, researchers used ultraviolet light photography and X-ray fluorescence testing. The scans showed that earlier restorers had painted over cracks and rebuilt parts of the hydria, including one handle, using materials unrelated to the original clay, likely to give the piece a more convincing archaeological look for buyers.
Restored ancient Greek vessels back on display in Naples
Cleaning removed grime, resin, and dark manganese stains from the hydria using carefully tested alcohol and water solutions, while a damaged section of the upper part of the artifact was disassembled and rebuilt from scratch. The oinochoe required a more drastic approach.
Researchers loosened old adhesives with heated water, allowing each fragment to be numbered, cleaned, stabilized, and reassembled by hand.
Rather than cover up all signs of earlier work, the team chose to maintain many older repairs that remained stable, treating them as part of the vessels’ history. Missing sections were then filled in and color matched using specialized conservation paints chosen for their long-term stability and reversibility.
The restored ancient Greek vessels, with their shapes and decorative details now brought back into clearer view, remain on display in Naples, where museum staff will carefully monitor humidity and temperature to ensure their long-term preservation.
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