Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Tue, 28 Apr 1998 14:26:24 -0400 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
I would like to underscore the comments of Karlis Karklins concerning
color identification (whether in bottles, beads, or anything else).
Although the Munsell system is good for standardizing description
(anyone else can look at the same color chip in their own book and
know exactly what you observed on your sherd), we should acknowledge
that manufacturing methods in the past were not conducive to precise
quality controls for glass color, nor did consumers seem to care all
that much. There might be a great deal of subtle color variation in
one vessel--and certainly among a batch of vessels made at the same
shop. But to most of us--then and now--green is green, and blue is
blue. Splitting beyond that level may well be drawing a distinction
without a difference.
It is not necessary to hit the bullseye to be effective with a hand
grenade. As long as you come near the target, it should prove quite
effective. As Karlis points out, employing a range of Munsell values
makes far greater sense theoretically, and it makes the analytical
process much less maddening in practice.
|
|
|