Project for the Cataloguing of the Antique Moulds of the Ginori Factory at Doccia

Using the sophisticated digital technologies that have been recently developed, the project that we are presenting here has the objective of cataloguing a vast and varied collection of moulds acquired by the Ginori factory in Doccia (Sesto Fiorentino, Florence) from the 1740s until the first decades of the 20th century. The moulds can be classified into two main categories: those made in the workshops of the sculptors working in bronze, most of whom were Florentine artists active in the 18th century, and those that were made by modelers in the factory using sculptures from private collections (in particular, antique marbles and bronze statuettes) or models that were specially made in the factory. The project is organized according to two workflows and includes the creation of a system for archiving, managing and retrieving the information which is called the Doccia Digital Archive System (DDA System). The first workflow is used for the sets of moulds for which we have no information concerning the positive (archetype). For the non-invasive exploration of the moulds we used 3D scans of the inside of the mould followed by the virtual reconstruction of the figure. The second workflow deals with groups of moulds that were part of the documentary campaigns conducted in 1960-1968 and in 2009-2010. For both of the workflows, there is an art historical study that completes the description of the sets of moulds being examined. The input into the DDA System of this vast quantity of heterogeneous data gathered during the development of the two workflows will make it possible for users at the Doccia Museum and the factory as well as ceramic restorers and scholars in Italy and other countries to make use of the information and the images.