The old plaster casts from the 1930s dig at Knossos are way better than the 3D printed ones we use now

I got to handle one of the original casts from Sir Arthur Evans' excavation last month and the detail on the Minoan pottery was incredible. The new resin prints just can't capture the same surface texture no matter how high the resolution is. Anyone else notice this with reproductions at their local museum?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse2901mo ago

The old plaster casts have this warmth and realness to them that plastic just can't match. I handled a Minoan jug replica at the British Museum a few years back and the difference was night and day.

robinson.leo1mo ago

I actually just found out during a tour last week that those old plaster casts from the 1930s were made with animal glue and marble dust, not just plain plaster. No wonder they feel so different and hold detail better than anything we get off a printer today. @jesse290, you are spot on about the warmth thing because that marble dust gives it a slight translucency that resin will never have. I held a snake goddess replica cast from 1932 at the Ashmolean and you could see tiny brush marks from the original pottery surface preserved perfectly. The 3D printed ones look flat and dead next to them, even at 200 micron resolution. Museum directors need to stop acting like digital reproductions are a upgrade when they are clearly a downgrade in tactility.