Restoring The Nike

Introduction
The Nike of Samothrace was found on the island of Samothrace in 1863 by a French expedition. It is seen above as it exists today in the Louvre. Unfortunately, like many Greek and Roman sculptures, it is missing its head,  arms, and a foot. The Louvre, in an effort to create a display which portrays the Nike in its former glory, is sponsoring a contest. It is asking for people to submit representations of what they think the Nike might have looked like when it was first sculpted. The entry that the Louvre decides is most plausible will be accepted and displayed next to the actual statue. Your team of artists and archaeologists is competing with others all over the world. You are charged with the task of restoring the Nike of Samothrace to its appearance after it was first sculpted and installed on the Monument of Nike.

The team must present a finished sketch or 3-D model of how they believe the Nike looked with its head, arms, foot, and any other adornments installed at the Monument of Nike. The team must research the character of Nike and other Greek sculptures of the time period in order to restore the statue to its original state. The team must also turn in a written paper defending the choices they made in restoring the statue the way they did, citing at least three other Greek sculptures of the time as influences. Teams are required to present their final sketches/models to the class citing examples of Greek sculpture to back up the choices they made in restoration. Finally, each team member must keep a journal of the restoration process in their sketchbook for each day that they spend working on the project. These journal entries should include notes on Greek sculptural characteristics.
 

• First, you will be assigned to a team of 3 students.

• Next, each team member must pick a role to play based on their interests or strengths: artist, archaeologist, or art historian. All are extremely important and at times each person will be playing more than one role.

• Access the background information on the Nike of Samothrace.

• So that you will have some idea about other missing or damaged classical sculptures that have been restored or re-created, find out about the missing sculpture of Athena Parthenos. Visit this site and follow the appropriate links. Keep notes in your sketchbook on your findings everyday you work on the project.

• Archaeologists should look at the Web resources on the background of Nike then report your findings to the group. Likewise, archaeologists need to research the site where the Nike was found and report to the group. Group members should take notes in their sketchbooks and share with the rest of their group.
• Art historians need to research Greek art of the same time period as well as the treatment of the female figure in Greek sculpture . You might want to check out the Louvre's collection of Greek sculpture. Gardener's Art Through The Ages and Janson's The History of Art  are especially valuable resources for characteristics of Hellenistic Greek sculpture. Keep taking notes in your sketchbook and share your findings with the rest of the group.
• Artists should be familiarizing themselves with the statue itself and its setting. They should also be looking closely at the statue from different angles in order to best re-create it. Take notes in your sketchbook and share them with your group members.

 

• Once your team has researched the Nike and sculptures like it, it is time to make decisions about your restoration of the sculpture. Consider the base of the sculpture and its sculptural setting, as well as whether or not the sculpture was painted. Take notes.

• At this time sketches can be made. You may use a computer as a tool in this process. Remember, well-executed final sketches will be accepted, but added points will be given to teams that create well-executed 3-D models.

• Prepare the sketch/model for presentation to the class along with your paper supporting the choices you made in restoring the statue.

Each piece of the restoration process will be evaluated using the guidelines below.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Sketch or model of the restored Nike	Poorly executed sketch or model showing little attention to craftsmanship, if any. Ideas are very basic and lack supporting evidence.	Begins to formulate an idea based on examples. Craftsmanship still lacks.	Nice attention to presentation. Firm ideas based on many examples. Creativity is employed.	Excellent craftsmanship and above-average presentation. Choices are extremely well thought out and it shows.
Paper explaining the choices made in restoration	Poorly organized and few ideas with very few, if any, research examples to back them up.	A loose organization with a few beginning ideas stated. Mechanics and spelling jeopardize the effectiveness of the paper.	Well organized ideas supported by 5 specific examples from the research. Minimal spelling and grammatical errors.	Well written and organized paper which flows from one idea to another. Creative interpretations of examples. No grammatical or spelling errors.
In-class presentation	Not willing to volunteer information to the audience because of reticence or lack of information to share.	Presentation which wanders at times and little evidence  given for the choices made in restoration.	All members of the group contribute significantly to the presentation. It is well organized, focused, and cites examples for restoration choices.	Presentation which maintains audience interest, is well organized, focused, and full of examples. References to the actual restored product are made.
Sketchbook notes	Non-existent or 'one-word' notes.	Notes for several but not all steps of the restoration process.	Notes describing every day and step of the restoration process.	Comprehensive notes on the process, as well as analysis and reflection on the project.

By completing this process, you should have a better understanding of the characteristics of Greek sculpture. You should also appreciate the process which archaeologists and artists go through to produce models of what they think lost or damaged ancient works of art looked like. As you are now aware, there are many choices based on extensive research that must be made in restoring or re-creating ancient work. Now when you see these sketches or models in museums you will have a greater appreciation for the men and women who created them.