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Estampage

2021-04-09T19:56:51Z

183.82.177.189: /* Usage */ Only specific references have been listed and vague references have been removed.

{{short description|Physical impression}}
'''Estampage''' or stamping, is a term commonly used in [[epigraphy]] to obtain the exact replica of an inscription that cannot be transported.

According to Jayanti Madhukar,<ref name="jayanti_hindu_blr_2017">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/society/what-do-the-inscription-stones-of-bengaluru-say/article21670654.ece|title=What do the inscription stones of Bengaluru say?|last=Madhukar|first=Jayanthi|date=2017-12-16|work=The Hindu|access-date=2017-12-19|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> it is defined as: {{Quote
|text=''a process of ‘lifting’ the inscriptions from the stone on to a piece of paper for a clearer read''
}} The [[Merriam-Webster Dictionary]] defines it as:<ref name="dict_mw">{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/estampage|title=Definition of ESTAMPAGE|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2017-12-19}}</ref> {{Quote
|text=''an impression of an inscription made on inked paper''
}}

== Etymology ==
According to T.S. Ravishankar, former director of the Epigraphy branch of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI), Estampage is a purely Indian term used by [[Epigraphist]]s.<ref name="jayanti_hindu_blr_2017"/>
However, a more linguistically correct explanation would be that it originated from the French word [[:wikt:fr:estampage|estampage]] (by itself of Proto-Germanic etymology) that literally means 'stamping' and in practice, can mean either of the two processes, namely industrial stamping of steel ([[forging]]) or the artistic stamping of various materials. The latter meaning seems to be have been adopted into epigraphy.

== Process of estampage ==
Estampage is typically obtained by pressing wet paper on to the rock face, over which any ink material (usually, coal or [[India ink|Indian ink]]) is wiped.<ref name="Springer_ACCV14_process">{{Cite book|last=Aswatha|first=Shashaank M.|last2=Talla|first2=Ananth Nath|last3=Mukhopadhyay|first3=Jayanta|last4=Bhowmick|first4=Partha|date=2014-11-01|title=A Method for Extracting Text from Stone Inscriptions Using Character Spotting|journal=Computer Vision - ACCV 2014 Workshops|series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science|language=en|publisher=Springer, Cham|pages=598–611|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-16631-5_44|isbn=9783319166308}}</ref>

An representative procedure<ref name="Springer_ACCV14_process"/> is listed below:
* Soak a brush in water
* Clean the surface of the stone (that holds the inscription) using the brush.
* Carpet the stone surface using a large piece of wet paper (or layers of paper)
* Pat the wet paper(s) gently, using a dabber made of soft material.
* Use Indian ink (usually black-colored) to smear the paper with the dabber, in order to get the impression of the surface.
* Allow the paper to dry on the stone surface.
* When the paper becomes dry, take it off slowly.
* Observe and verify the ink impression (estampage) emerging as white-colored letters (grooves of the characters) against the dark (black) background.

Epigraphers usually take a long time (days to weeks) to post-process the generated estampages, as they try to decipher, analyze, transliterate and translate the inscribed text.

== Usage ==
Within India, estampages have been made for numerous items and inscriptions of archaeological significance.<ref name="book_indian_epigraphy">{{Cite book|title=Indian Epigraphy : a Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages.|last=1948-|first=Salomon, Richard|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195356663|location=New York|oclc=466425560}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tnarch.gov.in/epi.htm|title=EPIGRAPHY - ARCHAEOLOGY|website=www.tnarch.gov.in|access-date=2017-12-19}}</ref>
Some of them include:
* [[Edicts of Ashoka]] and [[Edicts of Ashoka#Estampages of Girnar Edicts|Estampages of Girnar Edicts]] in particular
* [[Syriac language|Syriac]]/[[Middle Persian|Pahlavi]] inscriptions of [[Kerala]] <ref name="jstor_pahlavi_kerala">{{Cite journal|last=Winckworth|first=C. P. T.|date=1929|title=A NEW INTERPRETATION OF THE PAHLAVI CROSS-INSCRIPTIONS OF SOUTHERN INDIA|jstor=23950669|journal=The Journal of Theological Studies|volume=30|issue=119|pages=237–244}}</ref>

== Museums and displays ==
In 2016, the epigraphy branch of the ASI Southern Zone opened a new, permanent museum and exhibition of estampages named ''Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch Memorial Museum and Epigraphical Photo Exhibition'' at the historic [[Fort St. George, India|Fort St. George]] at [[Chennai]], South India. This museum is named after [[E. Hultzsch]], a German epigraphist and [[Indology|Indologist]] renowned for understanding and deciphering the ancient inscriptions of Ashoka, as part of his 159th birthday celebrations.<ref name="thehindu_museum_chennai">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/asi-opens-museum-of-estampages-from-across-india/article8407198.ece|title=ASI opens museum of estampages from across India|last=Swaminathan|first=T. s Atul|date=2016-03-29|work=The Hindu|access-date=2017-12-19|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Fernand Courby]], a French archaeologist
* [http://www.mom.fr/estampages/presentation.html Collection of over 10,000 estampages from Greece and Middle East] at [[Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée]], Lyon, France

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Archaeological corpora]]
[[Category:Methods in archaeology]]
[[Category:Epigraphy]]

Estampage

2021-04-09T19:50:53Z

183.82.177.189: /* Process of estampage */ Removed Wikipedia page link to dabber, which is redirected to a computer worm and doesn't serve a meaning to the context here.

{{short description|Physical impression}}
'''Estampage''' or stamping, is a term commonly used in [[epigraphy]] to obtain the exact replica of an inscription that cannot be transported.

According to Jayanti Madhukar,<ref name="jayanti_hindu_blr_2017">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/society/what-do-the-inscription-stones-of-bengaluru-say/article21670654.ece|title=What do the inscription stones of Bengaluru say?|last=Madhukar|first=Jayanthi|date=2017-12-16|work=The Hindu|access-date=2017-12-19|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> it is defined as: {{Quote
|text=''a process of ‘lifting’ the inscriptions from the stone on to a piece of paper for a clearer read''
}} The [[Merriam-Webster Dictionary]] defines it as:<ref name="dict_mw">{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/estampage|title=Definition of ESTAMPAGE|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2017-12-19}}</ref> {{Quote
|text=''an impression of an inscription made on inked paper''
}}

== Etymology ==
According to T.S. Ravishankar, former director of the Epigraphy branch of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI), Estampage is a purely Indian term used by [[Epigraphist]]s.<ref name="jayanti_hindu_blr_2017"/>
However, a more linguistically correct explanation would be that it originated from the French word [[:wikt:fr:estampage|estampage]] (by itself of Proto-Germanic etymology) that literally means 'stamping' and in practice, can mean either of the two processes, namely industrial stamping of steel ([[forging]]) or the artistic stamping of various materials. The latter meaning seems to be have been adopted into epigraphy.

== Process of estampage ==
Estampage is typically obtained by pressing wet paper on to the rock face, over which any ink material (usually, coal or [[India ink|Indian ink]]) is wiped.<ref name="Springer_ACCV14_process">{{Cite book|last=Aswatha|first=Shashaank M.|last2=Talla|first2=Ananth Nath|last3=Mukhopadhyay|first3=Jayanta|last4=Bhowmick|first4=Partha|date=2014-11-01|title=A Method for Extracting Text from Stone Inscriptions Using Character Spotting|journal=Computer Vision - ACCV 2014 Workshops|series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science|language=en|publisher=Springer, Cham|pages=598–611|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-16631-5_44|isbn=9783319166308}}</ref>

An representative procedure<ref name="Springer_ACCV14_process"/> is listed below:
* Soak a brush in water
* Clean the surface of the stone (that holds the inscription) using the brush.
* Carpet the stone surface using a large piece of wet paper (or layers of paper)
* Pat the wet paper(s) gently, using a dabber made of soft material.
* Use Indian ink (usually black-colored) to smear the paper with the dabber, in order to get the impression of the surface.
* Allow the paper to dry on the stone surface.
* When the paper becomes dry, take it off slowly.
* Observe and verify the ink impression (estampage) emerging as white-colored letters (grooves of the characters) against the dark (black) background.

Epigraphers usually take a long time (days to weeks) to post-process the generated estampages, as they try to decipher, analyze, transliterate and translate the inscribed text.

== Usage ==
Within India, estampages have been made for numerous items and inscriptions of archaeological significance.<ref name="book_indian_epigraphy">{{Cite book|title=Indian Epigraphy : a Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages.|last=1948-|first=Salomon, Richard|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195356663|location=New York|oclc=466425560}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tnarch.gov.in/epi.htm|title=EPIGRAPHY - ARCHAEOLOGY|website=www.tnarch.gov.in|access-date=2017-12-19}}</ref>
Some of them include:
* [[Edicts of Ashoka]] and [[Edicts of Ashoka#Estampages of Girnar Edicts|Estampages of Girnar Edicts]] in particular
* [[Madho Sarup Vats]]
* Works by [[Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department]]
* Works by [[M. G. S. Narayanan]]
* [[Syriac language|Syriac]]/[[Middle Persian|Pahlavi]] inscriptions of [[Kerala]] <ref name="jstor_pahlavi_kerala">{{Cite journal|last=Winckworth|first=C. P. T.|date=1929|title=A NEW INTERPRETATION OF THE PAHLAVI CROSS-INSCRIPTIONS OF SOUTHERN INDIA|jstor=23950669|journal=The Journal of Theological Studies|volume=30|issue=119|pages=237–244}}</ref>

== Museums and displays ==
In 2016, the epigraphy branch of the ASI Southern Zone opened a new, permanent museum and exhibition of estampages named ''Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch Memorial Museum and Epigraphical Photo Exhibition'' at the historic [[Fort St. George, India|Fort St. George]] at [[Chennai]], South India. This museum is named after [[E. Hultzsch]], a German epigraphist and [[Indology|Indologist]] renowned for understanding and deciphering the ancient inscriptions of Ashoka, as part of his 159th birthday celebrations.<ref name="thehindu_museum_chennai">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/asi-opens-museum-of-estampages-from-across-india/article8407198.ece|title=ASI opens museum of estampages from across India|last=Swaminathan|first=T. s Atul|date=2016-03-29|work=The Hindu|access-date=2017-12-19|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Fernand Courby]], a French archaeologist
* [http://www.mom.fr/estampages/presentation.html Collection of over 10,000 estampages from Greece and Middle East] at [[Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée]], Lyon, France

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Archaeological corpora]]
[[Category:Methods in archaeology]]
[[Category:Epigraphy]]