Beneath the Surface: UTSW assists DMA

Published on: July 08, 2022 By: Staff Reports

An exploration of the interior of the vessel, conducted in collaboration with the endoscopy team at UT Southwestern, revealed soil build-up consistent with its having originated from an archaeological context.

UT Southwestern assisted the Dallas Museum of Art recently to analyze the components of two art objects. Using high-tech endoscopy equipment, faculty helped scan the interior of two vessels in the DMA’s Arts of the Americas collection: a dog with human mask sculpture and an elliptical bottle, both from Mexico. The analysis revealed soil build-up consistent with its having originated from an archaeological context. “Collaborating with partners like UT Southwestern in kind of an innovative way helps us to achieve a greater level of knowledge than we can just on our own. This is a luxury, and we so appreciate UT Southwestern doing this” said Michelle Rich, Ph.D., Assistant Curator of the Arts of the Americas. In early 2020, UTSW assisted the DMA in a similar project to reveal the unseen components of a Senufo helmet mask from Africa.