scholarly journals Radiocarbon dating of lead white: novel application in the study of polychrome sculpture

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Sá ◽  
Laura Hendriks ◽  
Isabel Pombo Cardoso ◽  
Irka Hajdas
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Lead White ◽  
Human History ◽  
White Pigment ◽  
Multidisciplinary Study ◽  
Paint Systems ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Polychrome Sculpture ◽  
Cultural Heritage Objects ◽  
Source Of Information

AbstractRecently, radiocarbon dating underwent considerable technological advances allowing unprecedented sample size downscaling. These achievements introduced novel opportunities in dating cultural heritage objects. Within this pioneering research, the possibility of a direct 14C dating of lead white pigment and organic binder in paint samples was investigated on polychrome sculptures, a foremost artistic expression in human history. The polychromy, an indivisible part of polychrome sculpture, holds a key role in the interpretation and understanding of these artworks. Unlike in other painted artworks, the study of polychromies is repeatedly hampered by repaints and degradation. The omnipresence of lead white within the original polychromy was thus pursued as dating proxy. Thermal decomposition allowed bypassing geologic carbonate interferences caused by the object's support material, while an added solvent extraction successfully removed conservation products. This radiocarbon dating survey of the polychromy from 16 Portuguese medieval limestone sculptures confirmed that some were produced within the proposed chronologies while others were revised. Within this multidisciplinary study, the potential of radiocarbon dating as a complementary source of information about these complex paint systems guiding their interpretation is demonstrated. The challenges of this innovative approach are highlighted and improvements on sampling and sample preparation are discussed.

scholarly journals Selective Dating of Paint Components: Radiocarbon Dating of Lead White Pigment

Radiocarbon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Hendriks ◽  
Irka Hajdas ◽  
Ester S B Ferreira ◽  
Nadim C Scherrer ◽  
Stefan Zumbühl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Industrial Processes ◽  
Lead White ◽  
Step Method ◽  
Lead Carbonate ◽  
Paint Sample ◽  
White Pigment ◽  
Oil Paintings ◽  
Oil Paints ◽  
New Strategies

ABSTRACTLead white is a man-made white pigment commonly used in works of art. In this study, the possibility of radiocarbon dating lead white pigments alone and in oil paints was explored using well-dated lead white pigments and paints. Resulting14C ages on lead white pigments produced following the traditional stack process, where carbonate groups results from the incorporation of CO2originating from fermentation, matched the production years, while radiocarbon dating of lead white made using other industrial processes indicate that14C depleted CO2was used in their production. The method was applied to two case studies, where lead carbonate samples were dated in two oil paintings, one Baroque and one from the 20th century. We hereby show that the lead white pigment can be dated by14C and used as proxy for the time of creation of an artwork. Additionally, a two-step method was developed to allow14C analysis of both the lead white pigment and oil binder from the same sample. A single lead white paint sample can yield two distinct radiocarbon ages, one from the carbonate and one from the natural organic binder. This study thus proposes new strategies for14C dating of artworks.

scholarly journals Thermal Decomposition of Lead White for Radiocarbon Dating of Paintings

Radiocarbon ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1345-1356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucile Beck ◽  
Cyrielle Messager ◽  
Stéphanie Coelho ◽  
Ingrid Caffy ◽  
Emmanuelle Delqué-Količ ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Decomposition ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Extraction Yield ◽  
Lead White ◽  
Synthetic Route ◽  
White Pigment ◽  
Metallic Lead ◽  
Historical Samples

ABSTRACTLead carbonates were used as cosmetic and pigment since Antiquity. The pigment, known as lead white, was generally composed of cerussite and hydrocerussite. Unlike most ancient pigments, lead white was obtained by a synthetic route involving metallic lead, vinegar and organic matter. Fermentation of organic matter produces heat and CO2 emission, leading to the formation of carbonates. As lead white is formed by trapping CO2, radiocarbon (14C) dating can thus be considered. We have developed a protocol to prepare lead white. We selected modern pigments for the experiment implementation and ancient cosmetic and paintings for dating. After characterization of the samples by XRD, thermal decomposition of cerussite at various temperatures was explored in order to select the appropriate conditions for painting samples. CO2 extraction yield, SEM and XPS were used to characterize the process. Thermal decomposition at 400°C was successfully applied to mixtures of lead white with other paint components (oil as binder, calcite as filler/extender) and to historical samples. We obtained radiocarbon measurements in agreement with the expected dates, demonstrating that thermal decomposition at 400°C is efficient for a selective decomposition of lead white and that paintings can be directly 14C-dated by dating lead white pigment.

scholarly journals Thermal analysis of carbonate pigments and linseed oil to optimize CO2 extraction for radiocarbon dating of lead white paintings

2020 ◽  
Vol 154 ◽  
pp. 104637
Author(s):  
Cyrielle Messager ◽  
Lucile Beck ◽  
Laurence de Viguerie ◽  
Maguy Jaber
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Analysis ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Linseed Oil ◽  
Lead White

scholarly journals Macroscopic x-ray powder diffraction imaging reveals Vermeer’s discriminating use of lead white pigments in Girl with a Pearl Earring

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. eaax1975 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. De Meyer ◽  
F. Vanmeert ◽  
R. Vertongen ◽  
A. Van Loon ◽  
V. Gonzalez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Powder Diffraction ◽  
Lead White ◽  
White Pigment ◽  
Microscopic Scale ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Oil Paintings ◽  
Johannes Vermeer ◽  
Diffraction Imaging ◽  
The 19Th Century

Until the 19th century, lead white was the most important white pigment used in oil paintings. Lead white is typically composed of two crystalline lead carbonates: hydrocerussite [2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2] and cerussite (PbCO3). Depending on the ratio between hydrocerussite and cerussite, lead white can be classified into different subtypes, each with different optical properties. Current methods to investigate and differentiate between lead white subtypes involve invasive sampling on a microscopic scale, introducing problems of paint damage and representativeness. In this study, a 17th century painting Girl with a Pearl Earring (by Johannes Vermeer, c. 1665, collection of the Mauritshuis, NL) was analyzed with a recently developed mobile and noninvasive macroscopic x-ray powder diffraction (MA-XRPD) scanner within the project Girl in the Spotlight. Four different subtypes of lead white were identified using XRPD imaging at the macroscopic and microscopic scale, implying that Vermeer was highly discriminatory in his use of lead white.

scholarly journals The First Neolithic Occupation of La Cova del Randero (Pedreguer, Alicante, Spain)

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1492-1505
Author(s):  
Consuelo Roca de Togores Muñoz ◽  
Laura M. Sirvent Cañada ◽  
Silvia Martínez Amorós ◽  
Olga Gómez Pérez ◽  
Virginia Barciela González ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Ovis Aries ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Specific Nature ◽  
Environmental Characteristics ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Multidisciplinary Study ◽  
Pastoral Communities ◽  
Mountain Environment

Abstract The excavations at “Cova del Randero” (Pedreguer, Alicante, Spain) began in 2007 within the programme of archaeological interventions of the Archaeological Museum of Alicante. The cavity, located in one of the valleys that connect the coast with the inland mountains, presents a wide sequence of occupations that begins in the Upper Palaeolithic and continues throughout the different phases of the Neolithic. The results of a multidisciplinary study, carried out in an archaeological context associated with the first Neolithic presence of the cavity, are presented here. This occupation is defined by a unique combustion structure to which a set of artefacts and biofacts are linked. This archaeological context, probably of a specific nature, is related to the first agro-pastoral communities settled in the area. The fireplace is well defined stratigraphically and sedimentologically because of its reddish soil, which corresponds to hunter-gatherer occupation levels of the cavity, and under the greyish sediments that characterise the use of the cave as a fold during the Middle Neolithic. This occupation event was dated both by the associated materials, among which a fragment of cardial ceramic was found, and by radiocarbon dating of a metacarpus of Ovis aries around 5075–4910 cal BC (epicardial Early Neolithic). This data allows us to link the occupation of the cavity at this time with pastoral activity in a medium mountain environment. However, it also allows us to infer the environmental characteristics in which the first farming communities of the mountains of Alicante were developed.

scholarly journals Tracing and Mapping of Cultural Reserves as a Source of Information for Historical Tourism in Langsa City

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1070-1080
Author(s):  
Bukhari Bukhari ◽  
Madhan Anis ◽  
Ramazan Ramazan
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Tourism Destination ◽  
Source Criticism ◽  
Historical Method ◽  
Heritage Buildings ◽  
Historical Heritage ◽  
Cultural Heritage Objects ◽  
Source Of Information

Cultural heritage objects are evidence of historical heritage that is very useful in life, cultural heritage is also useful as a means of education as well as a historical tourism destination for the community. The purpose of this research is to find out historical heritage buildings in Langsa City, then to map the historical heritage buildings to be used as sources of information.The method in this study uses a historical method with stages namely the heuristic stage, the source criticism stage, the interpretation stage and the historiography stage. The result of the research is that there are five historical heritage buildings in Langsa City that have been designated as a Cultural Heritage with the Letter of the Mayor of Langsa in 2016. Then the mapping is carried out on the historical heritage which has been used as a source of information that is very helpful for local, regional, national and foreign tourists who visit Langsa City.

scholarly journals On metal and ‘spoiled’ wine: analysing psimythion (synthetic cerussite) pellets (5th–3rd centuries BCE) and hypothesising gas-metal reactions over a fermenting liquid within a Greek pot

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Photos-Jones ◽  
P. Bots ◽  
E. Oikonomou ◽  
A. Hamilton ◽  
C. W. Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Early Period ◽  
Mineralogical Composition ◽  
Acetic Acid Bacteria ◽  
Lead White ◽  
Lead Carbonate ◽  
White Pigment ◽  
Metallic Trace Elements ◽  
Basic Lead Carbonate ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Greek World

Abstract A Pb-based synthetic mineral referred to as psimythion (pl. psimythia) was manufactured in the Greek world at least since the 6th c BCE and routinely by the 4th c BCE. Theophrastus (On Stones, 56) describes its preparation from metallic Pb suspended over a fermenting liquid. Psimythion is considered the precursor of one of western art’s most prominent white pigments, i.e. lead white (basic lead carbonate or synthetic hydrocerussite). However, so far, and for that early period, published analyses of psimythia suggest that they consisted primarily of synthetic cerussite. In this paper, we set out to investigate how it was possible to manufacture pure cerussite, to the near exclusion of other phases. We examined the chemical and mineralogical composition (pXRF/XRD) of a small number of psimythion pellets found within ceramic pots (pyxis) from Athens and Boeotia (5th–4th c BCE) in the collection of the National Archaeological Museum (NAM), Athens. Analyses showed that the NAM pellets consisted primarily of Pb/cerussite with small amounts of Ca (some samples) and a host of metallic trace elements. We highlight the reference in the Theophrastus text to ‘spoiled wine’ (oxos), rather than ‘vinegar’, as has been previously assumed, the former including a strong biotic component. We carried out DNA sequencing of the pellets in an attempt to establish presence of microorganisms (Acetic Acid Bacteria). None was found. Subsequently, and as a working hypothesis, we propose a series of (biotic/abiotic) reactions which were likely to have taken place in the liquid and vapour phases and on the metal surface. The hypothesis aims to demonstrate that CO2 would be microbially induced and would increase, as a function of time, resulting in cerussite forming over and above hydrocerussite/other Pb-rich phases. Psimythion has for long been valued as a white pigment. What has perhaps been not adequately appreciated is the depth of empirical understanding from the part of psimythion manufacturers of the reactions between abiotic and biotic components within ‘oxos’/pot, as key drivers of minerals synthesis. Ultimately, psimythion manufacture may rest in understanding the nature of ‘oxos’, antiquity’s relatively little researched strongest acid.

scholarly journals The Minoan Santorini Eruption and its14C Position in Archaeological Strata: Preliminary Comparison Between Ashkelon and Tell El-Dabca

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1295-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik J Bruins ◽  
Johannes van der Plicht
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Political History ◽  
Human History ◽  
Volcanic Event ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Intermediate Period ◽  
Minoan Eruption ◽  
Temporal Occurrence ◽  
Geological Event ◽  
Mega Event

ABSTRACTThe volcanic mega event of the Minoan Santorini eruption constitutes a time anchor in the 2nd millennium BCE that is inherently independent of archaeology and political history. It was a geological event. Yet the dimension of time in geology is not different than in archaeology or human history. Why then does archaeological dating usually place the Minoan Santorini eruption in the 18th Dynasty around 1500 BCE, whilst radiocarbon dating of the volcanic event at Akrotiri (Thera) yielded a calibrated age of 1646–1603 cal BCE, a difference of more than a century? The crux of the problem lies apparently in the correlation between archaeological strata and political history. We present radiocarbon dates of Ashkelon Phases 10 and 11 in comparison to Tell el-Dabca and the Santorini eruption, based only on14C dating. Tell el-Dabca Phase D/2 is slightly older than the volcanic event. But Phase D/1 or Phase C/2-3 could have witnessed the eruption. Ashkelon Phase 11 has similar radiocarbon dates as Tell el-Dabca Phases E/2, E/1 and D/3, all being significantly older than the Minoan eruption. It seems that the duration of Ashkelon Phase 10 includes the temporal occurrence of the Minoan Santorini eruption within the Second Intermediate Period.

SEM Backscattered-Electron Images of Paint Cross Sections as Information Source for the Presence of the Lead White Pigment and Lead-Related Degradation and Migration Phenomena in Oil Paintings

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 696-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrien Keune ◽  
Annelies van Loon ◽  
Jaap J. Boon
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Layer Structure ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Particle Morphology ◽  
Paint System ◽  
Lead White ◽  
White Pigment ◽  
Oil Paintings ◽  
Backscattered Electron ◽  
And Migration

AbstractScanning electron microscopy backscattered-electron images of paint cross sections show the compositional contrast within the paint system. They not only give valuable information about the pigment composition and layer structure but also about the aging processes in the paint. This article focuses on the reading of backscatter images of lead white-containing samples from traditional oil paintings (17th–19th centuries). In contrast to modern lead white, traditional stack process lead white is characterized by a wide particle size distribution. Changes in particle morphology and distribution are indications of chemical/physical reactivity in the paint. Lead white can be affected by free fatty acids to form lead soaps. The dissolution of lead white can be recognized in the backscatter image by gray (less scattering) peripheries around particles and gray amorphous areas as opposed to the well-defined, highly scattering intact lead white particles. The small particles react away first, while the larger particles/lumps can still be visible. Formed lead soaps appear to migrate or diffuse through the semipermeable paint system. Lead-rich bands around particles, at layer interfaces and in the paint medium, are indications of transport. The presence of lead-containing crystals at the paint surface or inside aggregates furthermore point to the migration and mineralization of lead soaps.

Pigment Degradation in Oil Paint Induced by Indoor Climate: Comparison of Visual and Computational Backscattered Electron Images

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 448-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrien Keune ◽  
Rick P. Kramer ◽  
Zara Huijbregts ◽  
Henk L. Schellen ◽  
Marc H.L. Stappers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
Chemical Degradation ◽  
Lead White ◽  
Indoor Climate ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
White Pigment ◽  
The North ◽  
Backscattered Electron ◽  
North Wall ◽  
Computational Image Analysis

AbstractFor the first time the degradation of lead white pigment in mature oil paint has been used as an internal marker for the degree of saponification and hence chemical degradation of oil paint. Computational image analysis of the backscattered electron images quantified the degree of the intact lead white pigment versus the nonpigmented and lead-rich areas (degraded lead white) in the paint layers. This new methodology was applied to a series of paint samples taken from four painted wall hangings (dated 1778), which makes it possible to study the influence of indoor climate on chemical degradation of aged oil paintings. The visual interpretation and computational image analysis of the backscattered electron images revealed clear trends. The highest degree of lead white degradation in the room was found in samples from the north wall close to the windows, whereas degradation diminished further away from the window. Lead white from the south wall was less degraded, but showed a similar trend as in the paintings on the north wall. These results imply a strong relationship between chemical degradation of paint and location of the paint in the room.

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