The Assyrian relief facsimile in Factum’s workshop © Oak Taylor-Smith | Factum Foundation
Montserrat Fornes working on the Assyrian relief facsimile in Factum’s workshop © Oak Taylor-Smith | Factum Foundation
The project was developed in close collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art. Guided by Factum’s photogrammetry specialist, Imran Khan, the museum carried out the photogrammetric recording of the original relief. To complement these recordings, Factum’s colour recording specialist, Gabriel Scarpa, travelled to Cleveland to record the surface using composite panoramic photography, ensuring exceptional colour fidelity without highlights or shadows (albedo colour recording).
The combined datasets were used to rematerialise the relief carving as an accurate facsimile. The surface geometry was CNC-carved at full scale in three sections before being moulded and cast in acrylic resin. The resulting sections were assembled around an internal metal structure before being finished by hand to faithfully reproduce the appearance and material qualities of the original.
The facsimile is now installed in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s newly reopened ArtLens Gallery, where it contributes to a space dedicated to new ways of experiencing art through technology, interpretation and close looking. The project demonstrates how high-resolution recording and rematerialisation can enrich the museum experience while ensuring the long-term preservation of the original object.
The facsimile installed in the ArtLens Gallery at the Cleveland Museum of Art © Nathan Anderson
