Estampage

Estampage or stamping, is a term commonly used in epigraphy to obtain the exact replica of an inscription that cannot be transported.

According to Jayanti Madhukar,^[1] it is defined as:

a process of ‘lifting’ the inscriptions from the stone on to a piece of paper for a clearer read

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as:^[2]

an impression of an inscription made on inked paper

Etymology

According to T.S. Ravishankar, former director of the Epigraphy branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Estampage is a purely Indian term used by Epigraphists.^[1] However, a more linguistically correct explanation would be that it originated from the French word estampage (by itself of Proto-Germanic etymology) that literally means 'stamping' and in practice, can mean either of the two processes, namely industrial stamping of steel (forging) or the artistic stamping of various materials. The latter meaning seems to have been adopted into epigraphy.

Process of estampage

Estampage is typically obtained by pressing wet paper on to the rock face, over which any ink material (usually, coal or Indian ink) is wiped.^[3]

A representative procedure^[3] is listed below:

• Soak a brush in water
• Clean the surface of the stone (that holds the inscription) using the brush.
• Carpet the stone surface using a large piece of wet paper (or layers of paper)
• Pat the wet paper(s) gently, using a dabber made of soft material.
• Use Indian ink (usually black-colored) to smear the paper with the dabber, in order to get the impression of the surface.
• Allow the paper to dry on the stone surface.
• When the paper becomes dry, take it off slowly.
• Observe and verify the ink impression (estampage) emerging as white-colored letters (grooves of the characters) against the dark (black) background.

Epigraphers usually take a long time (days to weeks) to post-process the generated estampages, as they try to decipher, analyze, transliterate and translate the inscribed text.

Usage

Within India, estampages have been made for numerous items and inscriptions of archaeological significance.^[4][5] Some of them include:

• Edicts of Ashoka and Estampages of Girnar Edicts in particular
• Syriac/Pahlavi inscriptions of Kerala^[6]

Museums and displays

In 2016, the epigraphy branch of the ASI Southern Zone opened a new, permanent museum and exhibition of estampages named Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch Memorial Museum and Epigraphical Photo Exhibition at the historic Fort St. George at Chennai, South India. This museum is named after E. Hultzsch, a German epigraphist and Indologist renowned for understanding and deciphering the ancient inscriptions of Ashoka, as part of his 159th birthday celebrations.^[7]

See also

• Fernand Courby, a French archaeologist
• Collection of over 10,000 estampages from Greece and Middle East at Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, France
• Rubbing (art)