Getty Museum Uses Rollout Photography to Reveal Original Design of Chinese Vase
On June 17, 2026, the Getty Museum released details of a technical study on a hard-paste porcelain gu-form vase from China dating to 1662–1722. Conservator Arlen Heginbotham removed gilt-bronze mounts attributed to Pierre Gouthière, added in France about 1770, as part of authentication work completed in 2025. Senior imaging technician Steve DeFurio captured 360 photographs of the vessel on a computerized turntable, after which digital imaging specialist Tarra Wood assembled 74 layers in Photoshop to produce a flat rollout image showing the carved floral motif.
The Signal
The study underscores the hybrid character of such objects, which combine Kangxi-period Chinese porcelain with Parisian mounts, and demonstrates how advanced imaging can expose previously obscured details such as additional carved designs visible only through color-channel adjustments. The vase, acquired by the Getty in 1987, is now documented without its mounts for the first time in at least three decades, with the rollout images posted on the museum’s website.
- People: Arlen Heginbotham, Steve DeFurio, Tarra Wood, Pierre Gouthière
- Museums: Getty Museum
- Locations: Los Angeles
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