The Frieze of the Siphnian Treasury at Delphi : Interactions between Colour and Space in a Panhellenic Sanctuary

The Siphnian Treasury is a small archaic votive building that the city of Siphnos dedicated to the god Apollo in his sanctuary at Delphi in 525 B.C. Constructed shortly after the discovery of the gold and silver mines in the chora of the island, the treasury boasted a variety of spectacular colour remains on both its architectural elements and carved friezes. While these remains are almost invisible now, they were perceptible to the naked eye at the time of the treasury’s rediscovery in 1894. Vinzenz Brinkmann’s acute study in 1994 provided the most complete systematic description of the treasury’s polychromy in its state at that time.

More than two decades later, technological advancements allow a fresh investigation of the frieze and its colours with new analytical methods. The most recent analysis of the frieze, conducted in 2015 and 2016, included macroscopic X‑ray fluorescence imaging (MA‑XRF) as well as mobile reflectance imaging spectroscopy (RIS) in the visible and near‑infrared range. These methods revealed hidden traces of pictorial treatments and offered new insights into the placement and characterization of pigments, demonstrating a strong connection between a comprehensive chromatic programme and its different locations on the four sides of the exterior Ionic frieze, the pediments, and the caryatid figures of the front. How did these different colour schemes interact with each other? Did the treasury’s specific positioning within the sanctuary play a role in the selection of pigments and the final surface effects, including lighting and brilliance? To address these questions, we will first review the outcomes of our most recent investigations and then contextualize them within archaeological and historical data.