Estampage
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 [1], it is defined as: Template:Quote The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as [2]: Template:Quote
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 Epigraphists [1]. However, a more linguistically correct explanation would be that it originated from the French word 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) is wiped. [3]
Usage
Within India, estampages have been made for numerous items and inscriptions of archaeological significance. [4][5] Some of them include:
- Edicts of Ashoka and Estampages of Girnar Edicts in particular
- Madho Sarup Vats
- Works by Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department
- Works by M. G. S. Narayanan
- Syriac/Pahlavi inscriptions of Kerala [6]
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 at Chennai, South India. This museum is named after E. Hultzsch, a German epigraphist and Indologist, renowned for understanding and deciphering the ancient inscriptions of Ashoka as part of his 159th birthday celebrations. [7]
See Also
- Fernand Courby, a French archaelogist
- Collection of over 10,000 estampages from Greece and Middle East at Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, France
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Madhukar, Jayanthi (2017-12-16). "What do the inscription stones of Bengaluru say?" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. http://www.thehindu.com/society/what-do-the-inscription-stones-of-bengaluru-say/article21670654.ece.
- ↑ "Definition of ESTAMPAGE" (in en). https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/estampage.
- ↑ Aswatha, Shashaank M.; Talla, Ananth Nath; Mukhopadhyay, Jayanta; Bhowmick, Partha (2014-11-01). "A Method for Extracting Text from Stone Inscriptions Using Character Spotting" (in en). Computer Vision - ACCV 2014 Workshops. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Springer, Cham): 598–611. doi:. ISBN 9783319166308. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-16631-5_44.
- ↑ 1948-, Salomon, Richard, (1998). Indian Epigraphy : a Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages.. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195356667. OCLC 466425560. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/466425560.
- ↑ "EPIGRAPHY - ARCHAEOLOGY". http://www.tnarch.gov.in/epi.htm.
- ↑ Winckworth, C. P. T. (1929). "A NEW INTERPRETATION OF THE PAHLAVI CROSS-INSCRIPTIONS OF SOUTHERN INDIA". The Journal of Theological Studies 30 (119): 237–244. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23950669.
- ↑ Swaminathan, T. s Atul (2016-03-29). "ASI opens museum of estampages from across India" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/asi-opens-museum-of-estampages-from-across-india/article8407198.ece.