Reading Kru records: production, deposits and discovery

Separate the events

Production, placement, sealing, discovery and removal need not share one date. A discovery date does not automatically date manufacture, and a traditional early date does not establish an identical deposit history for every comparable object.

Record the precise attribution

Keep the temple or location, image type, named issue and what the available record actually states. If a popular name is all that is known, do not complete the missing history with an imagined account.

Document surfaces carefully

Photographs can record powder texture, pores, attachments, edges and cracks. Lighting, colour balance, scale, cleaning and repairs affect their appearance. A single colour or surface deposit cannot independently establish an object’s provenance.

Distinguish recipes from analysis

A traditional account of powders and ritual ingredients is a production narrative. It is not automatically a compositional analysis of the particular piece. Save photographs and measurements, and separate what the source says from what is visible and what remains unresolved.