Organic Matter and Pigments in the Wall Paintings of Me-Taw-Ya Temple in Bagan Valley, Myanmar

Pagán is an ancient city located in Myanmar that is renowned for the remains of about 4000 pagodas, stupas, temples and monasteries dating from the 11th to 13th centuries. Due to a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in 2016, more than 300 ancient buildings were seriously damaged. As a part of the post-earthquake emergency program, a diagnostic pilot project was carried out on Me-taw-ya temple wall paintings to acquire further information on the materials and on their state of conservation. This article presents our attempts at characterising the painting materials at Me-taw-ya temple using non-invasive portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF), portable Raman spectroscopy and micro-invasive attenuated total reflectance—Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), micro-Raman spectroscopy (µ-Raman), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), polarized light microscopy (PLM) and environmental scanning electron microscope—X-ray energy dispersive system (ESEM-EDS) investigations with the aim of identifying the composition of organic binders and pigments. The presence of a proteinaceous glue mixed with the lime-based plaster was ascertained and identified by GC-MS. In addition, this technique confirmed the occurrence of plant-derived gums as binders pointing to the a secco technique. Fe-based compounds, vermillion, carbon black and As-compounds were identified to have been incorporated in the palette of the murals.

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Revealing Artists’ Collaboration in a 14th Century Manuscript by Non-Invasive Analyses

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min11070771 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 771

Author(s):

Michela Perino ◽

Lucilla Pronti ◽

Lucrezia Gaia Di Forti ◽

Martina Romani ◽

Cecilia Taverna ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Raman Spectroscopy ◽

Fiber Optics ◽

Reflectance Spectroscopy ◽

Energy Dispersive ◽

Lead White ◽

Late Medieval ◽

14Th Century ◽

X Ray ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Red Lead

In the last decades, the working methods of late medieval illuminators have been widely discussed by art historians and codicologists. Non-invasive analyses are able to characterise the painting methods of illuminators as well as investigate artistic collaborations among them. The aim of this study was to characterise the painting palettes and techniques of different artists who illuminated two leaves from an early fourteenth century manuscript. The analyses were carried out with non-invasive and portable techniques such as Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (ED-XRF) spectrometry, Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) and Raman spectroscopy. The paper highlights the differences among three rich and varied palettes and examines the pigments ultramarine, azurite, verdigris, earths, orpiment, red lead, vermillion, lead white, yellow lake, indigo, brazilwood and lac, used independently or in mixtures. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of non-invasive analyses as a tool to differentiate hands of artists who have worked on the same page. Furthermore, the comparison with analyses carried out on leaves attributed to the workshop of Pacino di Bonaguida allows to investigate in-depth the production of the main illuminators active in Florence at the dawn of the Renaissance.

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Identification of Nd163 phase in melt-textured NdBa2Cu3O7−δ bulk samples

Journal of Materials Research ◽

10.1557/jmr.2003.0288 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 2050-2054 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Marcello Gombos ◽

Vicente Gomis ◽

Anna Esther Carrillo ◽

Antonio Vecchione ◽

Sandro Pace ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽

Optical Microscopy ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Energy Dispersive ◽

X Ray ◽

Spontaneous Formation ◽

The Stability ◽

Scanning Electron

In this work, we report on the observation of Nd1Ba6Cu3O10,5 (Nd163) phase of the NdBaCuO system in melt-textured Nd123 bulk samples grown from a mixture of Nd123 and Nd210 phase powders. The observation was performed with polarized light optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive x-ray analyses. Images of the identified phase crystals show an aspect quite different from Nd422 crystals. Unexpectedly, Nd163 was individuated, even in “pure” Nd123 samples. Moreover, after long exposure to air, Nd163 disappeared completely in samples synthesized from powders containing Nd210. Thermogravimetry analyses of powders show that the stability of this phase in air is limited to temperatures higher than 900 °C, so Nd163 is unstable and highly reactive at room temperature. Moreover, an explanation of the observation of Nd163 in Nd210 free samples, based on the spontaneous formation of Nd163 phase in a Nd123 melt, is proposed.

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Darkening of lead‐ and iron‐based pigments on late Gothic Italian wall paintings: Energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence, μ‐Raman, and powder X‐ray diffraction analyses for diagnosis: Presence of β‐PbO 2 (plattnerite) and α‐PbO 2 (scrutinyite)

Journal of Raman Spectroscopy ◽

10.1002/jrs.5817 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (4) ◽

pp. 680-692 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ilaria Costantini ◽

Pier Paolo Lottici ◽

Danilo Bersani ◽

Daniele Pontiroli ◽

Antonella Casoli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Dispersive ◽

Wall Paintings ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

Iron Based

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Accuracy and precision of quantitative energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry in the environmental scanning electron microscope

Scanning ◽

10.1002/sca.4950260404 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 167-174 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Robert A. Carlton ◽

Charles E. Lyman ◽

James E. Roberts

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscope ◽

Scanning Electron Microscope ◽

Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope ◽

Energy Dispersive ◽

Environmental Scanning ◽

X Ray ◽

Accuracy And Precision ◽

Scanning Electron

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Roman wall paintings characterization from Cripta del Museo and Alcazaba in Mérida (Spain): chromatic, energy dispersive X-ray flurescence spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis

Analytica Chimica Acta ◽

10.1016/s0003-2670(01)00847-9 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 434 (2) ◽

pp. 331-345 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

M.C Edreira ◽

M.J Feliu ◽

C Fernández-Lorenzo ◽

J Martı́n

Keyword(s):

Fourier Transform ◽

Spectroscopic Analysis ◽

Fourier Transform Infrared ◽

Energy Dispersive ◽

Wall Paintings ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

Infrared Spectroscopic Analysis ◽

Infrared Spectroscopic

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Origin of Ultraviolet Luminescence from Bulk ZnO Thin Films Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Advanced Engineering Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/aef.1.135 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 135-139 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Asghar ◽

Khalid Mahmood ◽

Adnan Ali ◽

M.A. Hasan ◽

I. Hussain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Raman Spectroscopy ◽

Molecular Beam Epitaxy ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Molecular Beam ◽

Energy Dispersive ◽

Zno Thin Films ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

Uv Luminescence

Origin of ultraviolet (UV) luminescence from bulk ZnO has been investigated with the help of photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Thin films of ZnO having 52%, 53% and 54% of Zn-contents were prepared by means of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We observed a dominant UV line at 3.28 eV and a visible line centered at 2.5 eV in the PL spectrum performed at room temperature. The intensity of UV line has been found to depend upon the Zn percentage in the ZnO layers. Thereby, we correlate the UV line in our samples with the Zn-interstitials-bound exciton (Zni-X) recombination. The results obtained from, x-ray diffraction, the energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDAX) and Raman spectroscopy supported the PL results.

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