Identification of Colourants and Varnishes in a 14th Century Decorated Wood-Carved Door of the Dionysiou Monastery in Mount Athos

A decorated and carved wooden door of the late Byzantine period (14th Century), which belongs to the Dionysiou Monastery in Mount Athos, Greece, constitutes an important relic of valuable technological information due to its construction technology and history. Seventeen (17) samples detached from the door are studied using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), and micro-Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. The following materials are identified in the cross sections of the door samples using micro-Raman spectroscopy: orpiment, lead white, red lead, red ochre, cinnabar, carbon black, gypsum, anhydrite, and calcite, and an organic colourant of the indigoid family. SEM-EDX studies supported to the aforementioned Raman results. Interestingly, a combination of inorganic and organic colourants was detected. The main goals of this particular study were to: (a) reveal the colour palette and materials, (b) identify the type of varnish and its condition, and (c) contribute to future restoration processes and aid conservators in selecting compatible restoration materials.

Download Full-text

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.

Download Full-text

Characterization of a Mahamayuri Vidyarajni Sutra excavated in Lu’an, China

Heritage Science ◽

10.1186/s40494-019-0320-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Liu Liu ◽

Decai Gong ◽

Zhengquan Yao ◽

Liangjie Xu ◽

Zhanyun Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽

Tang Dynasty ◽

Optical Microscope ◽

Lead White ◽

Scientific Methods ◽

X Ray ◽

Micro Raman Spectroscopy ◽

Scanning Electron

Abstract Historically, sutras played an important role in spreading Buddhist faith and doctrine, and today these remain important records of Buddhist thought and culture. A Mahamayuri Vidyarajni Sutra with polychrome paintings was found inside the cavity on top of the Nanmen Buddhist pagoda, built in the early Tang dynasty (618–627 CE) and located in Anhui Province, China. Textile was found on the preface which is strongly degraded and fragile. Unfortunately, the whole sutra is under severe degradation and is incomplete. Technical analysis based on scientific methods will benefits the conservation of the sutra. Optical microscopy (OM), micro-Raman spectroscopy combined with optical microscope (Raman), scanning electron microscopy in combination with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–EDS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the pigment and gilded material, as well as the paper fiber and textile. Pigments such as cinnabar, minium, paratacamite, azurite, lead white were found. Gilded material was identified as gold. A five-heddle warp satin, made of silk, was found as the textile on the preface of the sutra. The sutra’s preface and inner pages were made of paper comprised of bamboo and bark. As a magnificent yet recondite treasure of Buddhism, the sutra was analyzed for a better understanding of the material. A conservation project of the sutra will be scheduled accordingly.

Download Full-text

Spectroscopic investigation of two Serbian icons painted on canvas

Journal of the Serbian Chemical Society ◽

10.2298/jsc140722099d ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 80 (6) ◽

pp. 805-817 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ljiljana Damjanovic ◽

Olgica Marjanovic ◽

Milica Maric-Stojanovic ◽

Velibor Andric ◽

Ubavka Mioc

Keyword(s):

Raman Spectroscopy ◽

Fourier Transform ◽

Linseed Oil ◽

Orthodox Church ◽

Lead White ◽

X Ray ◽

Micro Raman Spectroscopy ◽

Green Earth ◽

Materials Used ◽

Different Parts

Multianalytical study of two Serbian icons, ?The Virgin and Child? and ?St. Petka?, painted on canvas by unknown authors was performed in order to identify materials used as pigments, binders and ground layer. Investigated icons belong to the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Samples, collected from different parts of the icons, were analysed by: optical microscopy (OM), energy dispersive X-Ray fluorescence (EDXRF), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Obtained results reveal presence of the following pigments: Prussian blue, ultramarine, green earth, iron oxides, lead white and zinc white. Linseed oil was used as a binder. Materials used for ground layers were gypsum, calcite, baryte and lead white. Gilded surface of the icon ?The Virgin and Child? was made of gold. Gilded surface on the frame of this icon was made of imitation of gold i.e. Schlagmetal, since EDXRF spectroscopy showed presence of copper and zinc, while gold was not detected. Based on style and art historian consideration as well as on obtained results for corresponding pigments and binder both icons were the most probably made at the end of 19th or beginning of the 20th century.

Download Full-text

Analysis of Materials from a Late 15th-Early 16th Century Polychromed Wood Sculpture

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-185-151 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 185 ◽

Author(s):

L. P. Stodulski ◽

V. J. Dorge

Keyword(s):

Cross Sections ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Electron Microscopic ◽

X Ray ◽

Red Lead ◽

The Media ◽

Staining Techniques ◽

Wood Sculpture ◽

Madonna And Child ◽

Silver Metal

AbstractDuring conservation, The Detroit Institute of Arts' late Gothic carved wooden sculpture, Madonna and Child, was found to have extensive, though fragmentary, remains of the original polychromy and at least four subsequent “restoration” overpaints. The materials present in the original and overpaintings were probed by polarizing microscopic and X-ray diffraction analyses of individual paint specimens, and scanning electron microscopic/energydispersive X-ray analyses of cross sections prepared using an ultramicrotome. Several sections were also studied using ultraviolet fluorescence microscopic staining techniques to determine the nature of the media used.The pigments identified include azurite, lead white, calcite, vermilion, red lead, hematite, red lakes and glazes, smalt and Prussian blue. Gold and silver metal leafs were also detected. The deteriorated remains of the late Gothic pressed brocade technique, and the use of “bronze” paint to approximate genuine gold leaf on a later addition to the sculpture, are also discussed.

Download Full-text

Pigment Analysis of Two Thai Banner Paintings

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-1047-y06-05 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 1047 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer Giaccai

Keyword(s):

Fourier Transform ◽

Calcium Carbonate ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Wall Paintings ◽

Lead White ◽

Pigment Analysis ◽

X Ray ◽

Red Lead ◽

Time Periods ◽

Copper Arsenic

AbstractThe pigments used in two Thai banner paintings (phra bot) were examined using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared microscopy (FTIR) and polarized light microscopy (PLM). The two paintings examined dated from the late 18th and the late 19th century. The paintings examined follow the trends observed on Thai wall paintings and manuscripts from the same time periods. Pigments identified include vermilion, iron oxide earths, red lead, lead white (hydrocerrusite), calcium carbonate, kaolin, Prussian blue, gamboge, artificial ultramarine, copper citrate and a copper-arsenic green.

Download Full-text

Investigation of the Cross-Section Stratifications of Icons Using Micro-Raman and Micro-Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy

Applied Spectroscopy ◽

10.1177/0003702818777772 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 72 (8) ◽

pp. 1258-1271 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dimitra Lazidou ◽

Dimitrios Lampakis ◽

Ioannis Karapanagiotis ◽

Costas Panayiotou

Keyword(s):

Raman Spectroscopy ◽

Fourier Transform ◽

Cross Section ◽

Cross Sections ◽

Lead White ◽

Chrome Yellow ◽

Micro Raman Spectroscopy ◽

Ft Ir ◽

The Cross ◽

Ft Ir Spectroscopy

The cross-section stratifications of samples, which were removed from six icons, are studied using optical microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and micro-Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The icons, dated from the 14th to 19th centuries, are prominent examples of Byzantine painting art and are attributed to different artistic workshops of northern Greece. The following materials are identified in the cross-sections of the icon samples using micro-Raman spectroscopy: anhydrite; calcite; carbon black; chrome yellow; cinnabar; gypsum; lead white; minium; orpiment; Prussian blue; red ochre; yellow ochre; and a paint of organic origin which can be either indigo ( Indigofera tinctoria L. and others) or woad ( Isatis tinctoria L.). The same samples are investigated using micro-FT-IR which leads to the following identifications: calcite; calcium oxalates; chrome yellow; gypsum; kaolinite; lead carboxylates; lead sulfate (or quartz); lead white; oil; protein; Prussian blue; saponified oil; shellac; silica; and tree resin. The study of the cross-sections of the icon samples reveals the combinations of the aforementioned inorganic and organic materials. Although the icons span over a long period of six centuries, the same stratification comprising gypsum ground layer, paint layers prepared by modified “egg tempera” techniques (proteinaceous materials mixed with oil and resins), and varnish layer is revealed in the investigated samples. Moreover, the presence of three layers of varnishes, one at the top and other two as intermediate layers, in the cross-section analysis of a sample from Virgin and Child provide evidence of later interventions.

Download Full-text

Insights into the composition of ancient Egyptian red and black inks on papyri achieved by synchrotron-based microanalyses

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2004534117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (45) ◽

pp. 27825-27835

Author(s):

Thomas Christiansen ◽

Marine Cotte ◽

Wout de Nolf ◽

Elouan Mouro ◽

Juan Reyes-Herrera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Walls ◽

Lead Compound ◽

Lead White ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Acid Phosphate ◽

X Ray ◽

Ancient Egyptian ◽

Red Lead ◽

Unknown Composition ◽

Iron Based

A hitherto unknown composition is highlighted in the red and black inks preserved on ancient Egyptian papyri from the Roman period (circa 100 to 200 CE). Synchrotron-based macro–X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping brings to light the presence of iron (Fe) and lead (Pb) compounds in the majority of the red inks inscribed on 12 papyrus fragments from the Tebtunis temple library. The iron-based compounds in the inks can be assigned to ocher, notably due to the colocalization of Fe with aluminum, and the detection of hematite (Fe2O3) by micro–X-ray diffraction. Using the same techniques together with micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Pb is shown to be associated with fatty acid phosphate, sulfate, chloride, and carboxylate ions. Moreover, micro-XRF maps reveal a peculiar distribution and colocalization of Pb, phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S), which are present at the micrometric scale resembling diffused “coffee rings” surrounding the ocher particles imbedded in the red letters, and at the submicrometric scale concentrated in the papyrus cell walls. A similar Pb, P, and S composition was found in three black inks, suggesting that the same lead components were employed in the manufacture of carbon-based inks. Bearing in mind that pigments such as red lead (Pb3O4) and lead white (hydrocerussite [Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2] and/or cerussite [PbCO3]) were not detected, the results presented here suggest that the lead compound in the ink was used as a drier rather than as a pigment. Accordingly, the study calls for a reassessment of the composition of lead-based components in ancient Mediterranean pigments.

Download Full-text

SIGMAL: A Program for Calculating L-Shell lonization Cross-Sections

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100097600 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 198-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

R.F. Egerton

Keyword(s):

Cross Sections ◽

Fortran Program ◽

Absorption Data ◽

X Ray ◽

Atomic Electrons ◽

Energy Dependent ◽

Hydrogenic Model ◽

Electron Energy Loss ◽

X Ray Absorption ◽

Shell Ionization

SIGMAL is a short (∼ 100-line) Fortran program designed to rapidly compute cross-sections for L-shell ionization, particularly the partial crosssections required in quantitative electron energy-loss microanalysis. The program is based on a hydrogenic model, the L1 and L23 subshells being represented by scaled Coulombic wave functions, which allows the generalized oscillator strength (GOS) to be expressed analytically. In this basic form, the model predicts too large a cross-section at energies near to the ionization edge (see Fig. 1), due mainly to the fact that the screening effect of the atomic electrons is assumed constant over the L-shell region. This can be remedied by applying an energy-dependent correction to the GOS or to the effective nuclear charge, resulting in much closer agreement with experimental X-ray absorption data and with more sophisticated calculations (see Fig. 1 ).

Download Full-text

Preparation And elemental analysis of ancient fibers

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100126846 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 45 ◽

pp. 410-411

Author(s):

Allen Angel ◽

Kathryn A. Jakes

Keyword(s):

Cross Sections ◽

Physical Structure ◽

Energy Dispersive ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

X Ray ◽

Long Term Storage ◽

Backscattered Electron ◽

Electron Imaging

Fabrics recovered from archaeological sites often are so badly degraded that fiber identification based on physical morphology is difficult. Although diagenetic changes may be viewed as destructive to factors necessary for the discernment of fiber information, changes occurring during any stage of a fiber's lifetime leave a record within the fiber's chemical and physical structure. These alterations may offer valuable clues to understanding the conditions of the fiber's growth, fiber preparation and fabric processing technology and conditions of burial or long term storage (1).Energy dispersive spectrometry has been reported to be suitable for determination of mordant treatment on historic fibers (2,3) and has been used to characterize metal wrapping of combination yarns (4,5). In this study, a technique is developed which provides fractured cross sections of fibers for x-ray analysis and elemental mapping. In addition, backscattered electron imaging (BSI) and energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis (EDS) are utilized to correlate elements to their distribution in fibers.

Download Full-text