Inside out: Fusing 3D imaging modalities for the internal and external investigation of multi-material museum objects

Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 31, pp. e00296

Abstract

3D imaging methods are increasingly employed in cultural heritage research to analyse and document objects in museum collections. In this work, we provide an interactive visualisation plugin for the open-source software Blender, to combine and inspect two complementary 3D imaging modalities: CT images, which capture the interior; and surface scans, which capture the exterior. 3D CT scan data can be visualised, both as volumetric representation and as orthogonal slices, and a 3D surface scan can be registered onto the CT data. It allows users to simultaneously and interactively inspect these modalities and to virtually cut through an object. It also provides tools for generating output images and videos for research and public outreach purposes. The plugin workflow was applied to four case studies from the collections of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and the British Museum, London. The plugin is published open-source together with detailed guidelines and a practice dataset.

Authors 9

1. Francien G. Bossema corresponding

   Rijksmuseum · Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica

   Affiliation as printed

   Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Science Park 123, 1098XG, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

   Rijksmuseum, Hobbemastraat 22, 1071ZC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

2. Paul J. C. van Laar

   Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica · Universidade Nova de Lisboa

   Affiliation as printed

   Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Science Park 123, 1098XG, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

   VICARTE – Vidro e Cerâmica para as Artes, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Hangar III, Campus da Caparica, Largo da Torre, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal

3. Kimberly Meechan

   British Museum

   Affiliation as printed

   British Museum, Great Russell St, London, WC1B 3DG, United Kingdom

4. Daniel O’Flynn

   British Museum

   Affiliation as printed

   British Museum, Great Russell St, London, WC1B 3DG, United Kingdom

5. Joanne Dyer

   British Museum

   Affiliation as printed

   British Museum, Great Russell St, London, WC1B 3DG, United Kingdom

6. Tristan van Leeuwen

   Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica

   Affiliation as printed

   Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Science Park 123, 1098XG, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

7. Suzan Meijer

   Rijksmuseum

   Affiliation as printed

   Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat 1, 1071XX, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

8. Erma Hermens

   University of Cambridge

   Affiliation as printed

   Hamilton Kerr Institute, Mill Ln, Whittlesford, Cambridge, CB22 4NE, United Kingdom

   The Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1RB, United Kingdom

9. K. Joost Batenburg Aachen Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science

   Leiden University · Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica

   Affiliation as printed

   Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Science Park 123, 1098XG, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

   Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, Niels Bohrweg 1, 2333CA, Leiden, the Netherlands