In this episode of Things We Threw Away, Jona and Stefanie trace the history of plaster cast collections from ancient workshops to contemporary museums. Our discussion moves between technical production, educational purpose, and shifting cultural values across two centuries.
We open with a personal plaster cast story: a medical one from when Jona broke her finger (Image 1). It looks, as she notes, a little bit like a dinosaur. This distinction between medical and archaeological plaster casts helps us understand what plaster cast collections actually are: often a 1:1 scale reproductions of sculptures and architectural features, created using gypsum for study and display. The practice goes back surprisingly far. We found that the earliest evidence is from around 1350 BCE at Tel El Amarna in Egypt, from the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose, where there was a cache of plaster masks and casts. Romans also used plaster, especially for mass-producing lamps and making copies of bronze or marble statues as a quicker, cheaper way to share images of emperors. The technique continued through the Byzantine Empire and into Italy and France during the Middle Ages.
Image 1: Personal medical plaster cast. Contemporary medical plaster cast illustrating plaster as an everyday material practice beyond archaeology and art history
But the real story of plaster cast collections begins with their industrial production in the nineteenth century. We found images from museum archives of large rectangular molds, approximately two metres high, that reveal the scale of this enterprise (Image 2). One mold carries a stamp dated 1855, a reminder that these were products of workshops with their own histories. Storage systems resembled archival practices, with massive pieces stored upright like oversized books.
Two techniques dominated production: the waste mold (moule perdu), which was destroyed after single use, and the piece mold (à bon creux), which could be reused for multiple casts. The material itself, the Plaster of Paris, or calcium sulfate hemihydrate, is created by heating raw gypsum to 150-160°C. The name comes from the abundant gypsum deposits found near Paris.
Image 2: Large-scale plaster molds and workshop context. Multi-part plaster molds demonstrating the scale, weight, and infrastructural demands of plaster cast production.
These industrial workshops fed a growing network of museum collections across Europe. We looked at historical photographs from the National Gallery of Ireland that capture this moment (Image 3). In one particularly image, an artist demonstrates drawing techniques before a public audience, the plaster casts serving as both subject and teaching aid. The other black and white photographs have a slightly haunted quality, but they show something important: these collections served dual purposes from their inception, supporting both scholarly research and public education. Major European collections were established in Göttingen (1760s, initially private), Bonn (1820), Berlin, and Munich. The nineteenth century was the era of "plaster mania," with collections facilitating comparative study through extensive exchange networks between institutions.
Image 3: Public engagement with plaster cast collections (historical photograph). Historical photograph showing visitors and artists using plaster cast collections for study and instruction.
This enthusiasm spread beyond Europe. A pre-opening photograph from around 1911 shows the Museo de Copias in Santiago, Chile (Image 4). The Victorian-style architecture, with its glass ceiling and ornamental detailing, could belong to any European museum of the period. Inside were 550 pieces of classical and neoclassical sculpture, all shipped from Parisian workshops around 1900. The collection came from the vision of journalist Daniel Barros-Gres, who proposed it as a means to provide models for Chilean artists. What we found distinctive was the museum's curatorial approach: plaster casts were displayed alongside contemporary Chilean artwork, creating an intentional dialogue between classical forms and local production. This mixing raises complex questions about cultural imperialism and educational intent, both of which seem to be present in the project. The collection's decline came quickly. Educational reforms and military dictatorship in the 1920s-30s led to deaccessioning, and a 1969 fire destroyed many pieces. What remained was dispersed to other institutions or storage. We learned that similar projects occurred in Japan during the same period.
Image 4: Museo de Copias, Santiago de Chile (early 20th century). Archival view of the Museo de Copias displaying plaster casts alongside local artworks within an educational setting.
Back in Europe, the twentieth century brought systematic devaluation. Collections that had been prized became problematic. Part of this was aesthetic: plaster casts were increasingly perceived as “fake,” lacking the artistic “aura” of originals. Photography and affordable travel made the originals themselves more accessible, reducing the educational necessity of reproductions. Storage became an issue as museums reassessed their priorities. But politics played a crucial role as well. We discussed how Munich's Museum für Abgüsse Klassischer Bildwerke, one of the largest collections in the world, was displaced in 1937 to make room for the Nazi "Degenerate Art" exhibition. Allied bombing later destroyed most of the pieces. In East Berlin, collections were deliberately neglected as symbols of an elitist educational system incompatible with socialist values. The Nazi appropriation of classical aesthetics, using Greek sculpture as an ideal of racial perfection, created a post-war ambivalence that extended to the collections themselves.
Yet plaster casts have found new purposes. Stefanie shared photographs from her visit to the Sperlonga museum in Italy, which offers one compelling example (Image 5). The museum displays a modern plaster cast reconstruction of the Polyphemus and Odysseus sculptural group alongside the original Roman marble fragments discovered at Tiberius's villa and grotto. The process involved creating casts from the original fragments, some of which had been filled with plaster in earlier restoration efforts, and then assembling these into a full compositional reconstruction based on archaeological evidence. The result is installed in a way that allows visitors to see both the fragmentary originals and a hypothetical complete scene. This communicates the original scale and narrative composition while maintaining scholarly transparency about what is known and what is interpreted.
Image 5: Sperlonga Museum, Italy. Polyphemus and Odysseus scene.
Pompeii offers another distinctive use of plaster casting, one that emerged from the site's unique preservation conditions (Image 6). A technical illustration shows the process: plaster is poured into voids left by decomposed organic material trapped in volcanic debris, creating detailed negative-space documentation of bodies in their final moments. The results include human figures in various poses, animals, and even a horse discovered just a few years ago. We emphasised that these casts are not human remains but plaster reproductions of body-shaped voids. Current display methods attempt to balance their extraordinary documentary value with respectful presentation of what they represent.
Image 6: Pompeii plaster casting (illustrative reconstruction). Reconstruction illustrating the Pompeii casting method used to record voids left by decomposed bodies and organic material, and a dog plaster cast as the result.
At the end of the episode, we discuss how contemporary scholarship has reframed the value of historical plaster cast collections entirely. Digital 3D scanning now enables comparison between old casts and deteriorated originals, revealing that casts often document sculptures in better condition than their current state. Furthermore, the "Gods in Colour" exhibition used casts as experimental surfaces for colour reconstruction, avoiding intervention on original surfaces. Munich's collection maintains an online digital archive, making pieces accessible for study regardless of their physical display status. Conservation efforts now treat the casts themselves as historical artefacts worthy of preservation. What has changed is the understanding of what these objects are. They are no longer seen merely as copies of originals but as historical documents in their own right, recording collection practices, educational methods, and patterns of cultural exchange across two centuries.
Further References
* Alexandridis, A. & Winkler-Horaček, L. (eds). 2019. Destroy the copy – plaster cast collections in the nineteenth–twentieth centuries: demolition, defacement, disposal in Europe and beyond. Berlin: De Gruyter.
* Art & History Museum. n.d. Plaster cast workshop. Available at: Art & History Museum website (accessed 29 January 2026).
* Britannica. n.d. Plaster of Paris. Available at: Encyclopaedia Britannica website (accessed 29 January 2026).
* Canterbury Christ Church University. n.d. A brief history of casts. Available at: University of Canterbury website (accessed 29 January 2026).
* Frederiksen, R. & Marchand, E. (eds). 2010. Plaster casts: making, collecting and displaying from Classical Antiquity to the present. Berlin: De Gruyter.
* MDPI. 2022. Materials and techniques for the coating of nineteenth-century plaster casts: a review of historical sources. Heritage 5(4): 176. Available at: MDPI website (accessed 29 January 2026).
* National Gallery of Ireland. n.d. Plaster casts gallery. Available at: National Gallery of Ireland website (accessed 29 January 2026).
* Nichols, M.F. 2006. Plaster cast sculpture: a history of touch. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 21(2): 114–130.
* Payne, E.M. 2020. The conservation of plaster casts in the nineteenth century. Studies in Conservation 65(1): 37–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393630.2019.1610845
Image references
* Image 1
* Extended plaster cast. Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cast_extended.jpg
* Medical plaster cast on finger. Personal photograph by Jona, c. 23 years ago. Private collection.
* Image 2
* Reverse of cast REPRO.1980-80 showing thinness and wooden armature impression. Heritage 5, no. 4 (2022): 176. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/4/176
* Reverse of cast REPRO.1980-80 showing thinness and wooden armature impression. Heritage 5, no. 4 (2022): 176. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/4/176
* Reverse of cast REPRO.A.1916-3153 showing thickness compared to Pouzadoux casts. Heritage 5, no. 4 (2022): 176. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/4/176
* Reverse of cast REPRO.A.1916-3153 showing thickness compared to Pouzadoux casts. Heritage 5, no. 4 (2022): 176. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/4/176
* Image 3
* Cast collection, Cornell University. Assembled 1890s from funds donated by Henry Sage, trustee. Collection comprises 19th-century casts of Greek, Roman, Near Eastern, Egyptian, medieval, and Renaissance sculptures. Cornell University. Available at: http://static.as.cornell.edu/150/images/canon/drawing.jpg
* Sculpture Hall interior view towards entrance, c. 1890. Attributed to Robert French (1841-1917). Lawrence Collection, National Photographic Archive, National Gallery of Ireland. Available at: https://www.nationalgallery.ie/sites/default/files/styles/content_hero/public/2021-04/plaster-casts-1-no-text.jpg
* Plaster cast study. National Gallery of Ireland. Available at: https://www.nationalgallery.ie/sites/default/files/styles/width_710/public/2021-04/moynan-lion-text.jpg
* Image 4
* N. Keller - The Rise and Fall of the Museo de Copias: On the History of the Collection of Sculpture Replicas in the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago de Chile. In: Annetta Alexandridis, Lorenz Winkler-Horaček (Hrsg.): Destroy the Copy – Plaster Cast Collections in the 19th–20th Centuries. Demolition, Defacement, Disposal in Europe and Beyond. De Gruyter. P. 61.
* Image 5
* Polyphemus and Odysseus scene in the Sperlonga Museum, Italy. Photo taken by Stefanie in 2024. Private Collection.
* Image 6
* Architectural drawing of a Pompeian structure. Drawing by U. Cesino. Parco Archeologico di Pompei. Available at: https://pompeiisites.org/wp-content/uploads/photo5900180064564262063.jpg
* Plaster cast of a chained dog from Pompeii. Museum of Boscoreale. Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dog_in_chains_cast_Pompeii_Museum_Boscoreale.jpg
Credits
* Intro and outro music: “Meeting for Two – Background Music for Video Vlog (Hip Hop version, 43s)” via Pixabay Music by White_Records
* Research behind the script: Jona Schlegel
* Editing and post-production: Jona Schlegel
* Cover art: Stefanie Ulrich
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Projects by the team members
Jona Schlegel
* Follow on Instagram (@archaeoink): Visual science communication through illustration, websites and archaeology
* jonaschlegel.com: Portfolio and background on archaeological communication, coding, and design
* archaeoink.com: Illustrated archaeology, blog posts, newsletter, and research-based visual storytelling
* pastforwardhub.com: A platform for (freelance) archaeologists who want to create a more sustainable career, be visible, and connect with others
Stefanie Ulrich
* Follow on Instagram (@thepublicarchaeologist): Photography of archaeological objects, and material encounters with a special focus on ancient Rome
