Scientific Analysis and Conservation Treatment on the Buddhist Scriptures of Paper Relics Excavated from Sum Tolgoi, Mongolia

This study analyzed the composition and structure of materials with Buddhist paper scriptures excavated from architectural sites in ‘Sum Tolgoi’ of the 17th century and carried out conservation treatment base on the result of the analysis. The scriptures were covered in dust and foreign sub stances, and were so crumpled that it was impossib le to identify the form. The damage, loss, and discoloration have been identified. Buddhist scriptures written in Tibetan used indigo and ink sticks on paper as a result of UV-Vis analysis, and ink sticks as black character materials from scriptures written ancient Mongolian. SEM-EDS and Micro-XRF analyses revealed that the outlines were drawn with red lines using a mix of Minium (Pb3O4) and Cinnabar (HgS), or Cinnabar (HgS) alone, and the contents of the scriptures were written with silver paint. Silver chloride (AgCl) and Calcium (Ca) were identified in the silver paint component of the characters, while Calcium and Orpiment (As2S3) were identified in the yellow lines. Concerning the paper ground, Buddhist scriptures written in ancient Mongolian were characterized by herbal plant fiber and bast fiber, and those written in Tibetan, by bast fiber. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the paper for the scriptures was produced b etween the 15th and 17th centuries. Conservation treatment of the scriptures was carried out based on the experiment on the production of pre-coated paper and how to coat that to prevent the second damage due to the deformation and fragility of the excavated paper. The scriptures were preserved and mounted, and a neutral box was made to identify the contents of the scriptures recorded on both sides after the treatment. This conservation treatment is the result of a study that applied new conservation treatment materials and methods according to the principle of conservation treatment reversibility.

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Testing the Effectiveness of Protocols for Removal of Common Conservation Treatments for Radiocarbon Dating

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/rdc.2017.68 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

pp. 35-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Fiona Brock ◽

Michael Dee ◽

Andrew Hughes ◽

Christophe Snoeck ◽

Richard Staff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Solvent ◽

Vinyl Acetate ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Cellulose Nitrate ◽

Acid Base ◽

Acrylic Polymers ◽

Archaeological Wood ◽

Conservation Treatment ◽

Chemical Pretreatments ◽

Selection Of

AbstractTo achieve a reliable radiocarbon (14C) date for an object, any contamination that may be of a different age must be removed prior to dating. Samples that have been conserved with treatments such as adhesives, varnishes or consolidants can pose a particular challenge to 14C dating. At the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU), common examples of such substances encountered include shellac, the acrylic polymers Paraloid B-67 and B-72, and vinyl acetate-derived polymers (e.g. PVA). Here, a non-carbon-containing absorbent substrate called Chromosorb® was deliberately contaminated with a range of varieties or brands of these conservation treatments, as well as two cellulose nitrate lacquers. A selection of chemical pretreatments was tested for their efficiency at removing them. While the varieties of shellac and Paraloid tested were completely removed with some treatments (water/methanol and acetone/methanol/chloroform sequential washes, respectively), no method was found that was capable of completely removing any of the vinyl acetate-derived materials or the cellulose nitrate lacquers. While Chromosorb is not an exact analog of archaeological wood or bone, for example, this study suggests that it may be possible to remove aged shellac and Paraloid from archaeological specimens with standard organic solvent-acid-base-acid pretreatments, but it may be significantly more difficult to remove vinyl acetate-derived polymers and cellulose nitrate lacquers sufficiently to provide reliable 14C dates. The four categories of conservation treatment studied demonstrate characteristic FTIR spectra, while highlighting subtle chemical and molecular differences between different varieties of shellac, Paraloid and cellulose nitrate lacquers, and significant differences between the vinyl acetate derivatives.

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Dating Early Christian Papyri: Old and New Methods – Introduction

Journal for the Study of the New Testament ◽

10.1177/0142064x19855579 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 46-57

Author(s):

Roberta Mazza

Keyword(s):

Raman Spectroscopy ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Multidisciplinary Approach ◽

Ancient Text ◽

Early Christian ◽

New Methods ◽

Scientific Analysis ◽

Academic Publications ◽

The Way

This article provides a methodological introduction to the issues and questions raised in the dossier: How can we attribute a date to ancient papyri when it is not indicated in the text? What methods have been employed so far for dating and how reliable are they? What kind of conscious and unconscious biases underpin the attribution of a date to Christian papyri in particular? Is scientiﬁc analysis a more reliable means than palaeography to establish the age of composition of an ancient text? After discussing some research performed on papyri from the Rylands collection, bearing early Christian texts, the author addresses some of the strengths and pitfalls of any of the methods currently available, ranging from palaeography to radiocarbon dating and Raman spectroscopy. In conclusion, it is argued that more clarity and transparency are needed in the way motivations for attributing a date to a fragment are provided in academic publications and that only a multidisciplinary approach can partially overcome the problems at stake.

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Where is All the Amalgam Silvering?

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-462-127 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 462 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kilian Anheuser

Keyword(s):

Copper Alloy ◽

18Th Century ◽

Silver Chloride ◽

Know How ◽

Diffusion Bond ◽

Decorative Art ◽

Silver Amalgam ◽

Subsequent Heating ◽

Xrf Analyses

ABSTRACTAmalgam gilding was one of the most common techniques for the gilding of metalwork before the invention of electroplating. Its silver equivalent, amalgam silvering, was executed in the same manner, by applying a paste of silver amalgam and mercury to a copper alloy object and subsequent heating to form a diffusion bond between substrate and plating and to evaporate the excess mercury, followed by burnishing of the surface. The technical know-how was readily available. However, even though many medieval and post-medieval European metal objects were silver plated, only a few coins and small objects like medieval decorative mounts and horse trappings, and post-medieval astronomic instruments have been reported as examples of amalgam silvering. The technique was also used in China in the 3rd-1st century BC. Should we assume that there are many more amalgam silvered objects waiting to be discovered, as has been suggested? This paper investigates silver plated objects from 3rd century BC Chinese belt hooks to 18th century French decorative art and compares the analytical evidence with original silvering recipes and replication experiments, which showed that with amalgam silvering satisfactory results were far more difficult to achieve than with fire-gilding. It was found that the presence of mercury in XRF analyses of silver plated surfaces did not necessarily identify amalgam silvering, and that some allegedly amalgam silvered objects may in fact have been plated with silver chloride based electrochemical replacement silvering pastes.

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Of Earth and Sky: A Pair of Ming Hanging Scrolls, from Past Repairs to Present Conservation

Restaurator International Journal for the Preservation of Library and Archival Material ◽

10.1515/res-2016-0011 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 37 (3-4) ◽

Author(s):

Marinita Stiglitz ◽

Julia Bearman

Keyword(s):

Ming Dynasty ◽

Gellan Gum ◽

Bodleian Library ◽

Ethical Considerations ◽

Strong Bond ◽

Conservation Treatment ◽

The Earth ◽

Late Ming ◽

Scientific Analysis ◽

The Late Ming Dynasty

AbstractA pair of Chinese scrolls representing the earth and sky were donated to the Bodleian Library in 1684. They are thought to be ephemeral items printed during the late Ming dynasty. Records indicate that in 1883 the scrolls were trimmed, patched with transparent paper, backed with cloth and mounted in an unsympathetic manner. In this paper, we consider the conservation and preservation measures adopted by the then Bodleian Librarian and reflect on his participation at the St. Gall Conference in 1898. The conservation treatment of the scrolls completed in 2015 was guided by their past repairs, current ethical considerations and scientific analysis. Breaking the strong bond between the transparent paper and the fragile surface of the scrolls required experimentation with the Albertina Compress and Gellan gum. The recreation of functional hanging scrolls involved the use of traditional scroll-mounting techniques and the reinterpretation of the Chinese mounting style from a western conservation perspective. We also discuss the experience gained in treating two artefacts with almost identical problems.

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Scanning Electron Microscopy-cuticular Lesions on the Roundworm Ascaris Suum

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010006756x ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 28 ◽

pp. 114-115

Author(s):

P. A. Madden ◽

W. R. Anderson

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽

Freeze Drying ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Secondary Electron ◽

Distilled Water ◽

Freeze Dried ◽

Silver Paint ◽

To Come ◽

Scanning Electron

The intestinal roundworm of swine is pinkish in color and about the diameter of a lead pencil. Adult worms, taken from parasitized swine, frequently were observed with macroscopic lesions on their cuticule. Those possessing such lesions were rinsed in distilled water, and cylindrical segments of the affected areas were removed. Some of the segments were fixed in buffered formalin before freeze-drying; others were freeze-dried immediately. Initially, specimens were quenched in liquid freon followed by immersion in liquid nitrogen. They were then placed in ampuoles in a freezer at −45C and sublimated by vacuum until dry. After the specimens appeared dry, the freezer was allowed to come to room temperature slowly while the vacuum was maintained. The dried specimens were attached to metal pegs with conductive silver paint and placed in a vacuum evaporator on a rotating tilting stage. They were then coated by evaporating an alloy of 20% palladium and 80% gold to a thickness of approximately 300 A°. The specimens were examined by secondary electron emmission in a scanning electron microscope.

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Crystal Structure Analysis of Cu-Zr Alloys by Convergent Beam Diffraction

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100098277 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 354-355

Author(s):

A. F. Marshall ◽

J. W. Steeds ◽

D. Bouchet ◽

S. L. Shinde ◽

R. G. Walmsley

Keyword(s):

Crystal Structure ◽

Point Group ◽

Intermetallic Phase ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Crystal Structure Analysis ◽

Ion Milling ◽

Composition And Structure ◽

Unit Cells ◽

Sputter Deposited ◽

Convergent Beam

Convergent beam electron diffraction is a powerful technique for determining the crystal structure of a material in TEM. In this paper we have applied it to the study of the intermetallic phases in the Cu-rich end of the Cu-Zr system. These phases are highly ordered. Their composition and structure has been previously studied by microprobe and x-ray diffraction with sometimes conflicting results.The crystalline phases were obtained by annealing amorphous sputter-deposited Cu-Zr. Specimens were thinned for TEM by ion milling and observed in a Philips EM 400. Due to the large unit cells involved, a small convergence angle of diffraction was used; however, the three-dimensional lattice and symmetry information of convergent beam microdiffraction patterns is still present. The results are as follows:1) 21 at% Zr in Cu: annealed at 500°C for 5 hours. An intermetallic phase, Cu3.6Zr (21.7% Zr), space group P6/m has been proposed near this composition (2). The major phase of our annealed material was hexagonal with a point group determined as 6/m.

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Off-axis electron holography applied to the study of interfaces

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100121624 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 244-245

Author(s):

J.K. Weiss ◽

M. Gajdardziska-Josifovska ◽

M. R. McCartney ◽

David J. Smith

Keyword(s):

Electric Fields ◽

Resolution Enhancement ◽

Interfacial Structure ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

Bulk Property ◽

Electron Holography ◽

Specimen Thickness ◽

Composition And Structure ◽

Chemical Segregation ◽

Diffraction Effects

Interfacial structure is a controlling parameter in the behavior of many materials. Electron microscopy methods are widely used for characterizing such features as interface abruptness and chemical segregation at interfaces. The problem for high resolution microscopy is to establish optimum imaging conditions for extracting this information. We have found that off-axis electron holography can provide useful information for the study of interfaces that is not easily obtained by other techniques.Electron holography permits the recovery of both the amplitude and the phase of the image wave. Recent studies have applied the information obtained from electron holograms to characterizing magnetic and electric fields in materials and also to atomic-scale resolution enhancement. The phase of an electron wave passing through a specimen is shifted by an amount which is proportional to the product of the specimen thickness and the projected electrostatic potential (ignoring magnetic fields and diffraction effects). If atomic-scale variations are ignored, the potential in the specimen is described by the mean inner potential, a bulk property sensitive to both composition and structure. For the study of interfaces, the specimen thickness is assumed to be approximately constant across the interface, so that the phase of the image wave will give a picture of mean inner potential across the interface.

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Fit Vs Faint: Assessing Work Causation in “Idiopathic Fall” Cases

Guides Newsletter ◽

10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2014.sepoct01 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 19 (5) ◽

pp. 3-12

Author(s):

Lorne Direnfeld ◽

David B. Torrey ◽

Jim Black ◽

LuAnn Haley ◽

Christopher R. Brigham

Keyword(s):

Blood Flow ◽

Electrical Activity ◽

Loss Of Consciousness ◽

Brain Electrical Activity ◽

Medical Terminology ◽

Scientific Analysis ◽

Medical Causation ◽

The Individual ◽

The Brain ◽

Current Science

Abstract When an individual falls due to a nonwork-related episode of dizziness, hits their head and sustains injury, do workers’ compensation laws consider such injuries to be compensable? Bearing in mind that each state makes its own laws, the answer depends on what caused the loss of consciousness, and the second asks specifically what happened in the fall that caused the injury? The first question speaks to medical causation, which applies scientific analysis to determine the cause of the problem. The second question addresses legal causation: Under what factual circumstances are injuries of this type potentially covered under the law? Much nuance attends this analysis. The authors discuss idiopathic falls, which in this context means “unique to the individual” as opposed to “of unknown cause,” which is the familiar medical terminology. The article presents three detailed case studies that describe falls that had their genesis in episodes of loss of consciousness, followed by analyses by lawyer or judge authors who address the issue of compensability, including three scenarios from Arizona, California, and Pennsylvania. A medical (scientific) analysis must be thorough and must determine the facts regarding the fall and what occurred: Was the fall due to a fit (eg, a seizure with loss of consciousness attributable to anormal brain electrical activity) or a faint (eg, loss of consciousness attributable to a decrease in blood flow to the brain? The evaluator should be able to fully explain the basis for the conclusions, including references to current science.

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