Project Overview
The Tack
An exhibition video reveals the science behind the authentication of a J. Paul Getty cabinet believed to have been a fake.
This case study of the research into the authenticity of the cabinet presents the results of scientific and visual analyses of the object, studies of related materials, archival research, and other evidence. The video—comprised of original footage, as well as 2-D and 3-D visualizations and motion graphics elements—follows Getty researchers through the processes of X-ray fluorescence, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy to reveal the composition of a small tack that was characteristic of manufacturing methods of the period.