Articles

Alloy ratio and raw material sourcing of Warring States Period bronze bracelets in Huili County, Southwest China by pXRF and MC-ICP-MS

Up to now, there have been few monographic analyses of metal ornaments in China. This study presents a case study of the metallurgical archaeology on bracelets from Huili (会理), which may shed light on the issu...

Authors: Dian Chen, Yingdong Yang, Jing Du, Xiang Tang and Wugan Luo

Studies of internal stress induced by solidification of menthol melt as temporary consolidant in archaeological excavations using resistance strain gauge method

Volatile organic solids, such as cyclododecane or menthol, have been employed as temporary reinforcement material during archaeological excavations. They are usually applied as melts and reinforcement is achie...

Authors: Xiuxiu Chen, Yang Xu, Ming Chen, Xiao Huang, Hongjie Luo and Yicheng Song

Copper alloy production in the Warring States period (475-221 BCE) of the Shu state: a metallurgical study on copper alloy objects of the Baishoulu cemetery in Chengdu, China

Many bronze objects were unearthed in the capital of the Shu state in present-day Chengdu. However, only a few metallurgical studies have been carried out on those objects. This research attempts to study the ...

Authors: Haichao Li, Zhiqiang Zuo, Jianfeng Cui, Jianbo Tian, Yingdong Yang, Li Yi, Zhiqing Zhou and Jianan Fan

The deterioration process of limestone in the Anahita Temple of Kangavar (West Iran)

The well-known archaeological site of Anahita Temple at Kangavar is one of the most important Iranian stone monuments. It has been dated by various authors in an interval extended from Achaemenid to Sasanian P...

Authors: Vahid Barnoos, Omid Oudbashi and Atefeh Shekofteh

Degradation of emerald green: scientific studies on multi-polychrome Vairocana Statue in Dazu Rock Carvings, Chongqing, China

The spontaneous degradation of pigments in painting may occur depending on environment, especially the surrounding condition of high humidity and soluble salts. Even some of these are well studied, more invest...

Authors: Zhimin Li, Lele Wang, Huili Chen and Qinglin Ma

Comparison of trace element chemistry in human bones interred in two private chapels attached to Franciscan friaries in Italy and Denmark: an investigation of social stratification in two medieval and post-medieval societies

Individuals buried in two 17th–18th Century private chapels, each attached to a Franciscan Friary—one in Italy the other in Denmark—have been studied and sampled for trace element analysis. This selection of i...

Authors: Kaare Lund Rasmussen, Thomas Delbey, Paolo d’Imporzano, Lilian Skytte, Simone Schiavone, Marielva Torino, Peter Tarp and Per Orla Thomsen

Correction to: Salvator Mundi: an investigation of the painting’s materials and techniques

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Authors: Nica Gutman Rieppi, Beth A. Price, Ken Sutherland, Andrew P. Lins, Richard Newman, Peng Wang, Ting Wang and Thomas J. Tague Jr.

3D scanning, modeling, and printing of Chinese classical garden rockeries: Zhanyuan’s South Rockery

Chinese classical garden rockeries have rich historical and cultural value, as they are a part of China’s cultural heritage. In recent years, while the digital research of rockeries has increased, most of it i...

Authors: Qianli Dong, Qingping Zhang and Lingxi Zhu

Beyond the connoisseurship approach: creating a chronology in Hokusai prints using non-invasive techniques and multivariate data analysis

This study combines scientific and connoisseurship approaches to establish a production chronology of 141 woodblock prints from Katsushika Hokusai’s series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji belonging to different cu...

Authors: Marc Vermeulen, Lucia Burgio, Nathalie Vandeperre, Elyse Driscoll, Madeleine Viljoen, Janie Woo and Marco Leona

Looking for paint mixtures to glimpse pictorial techniques: a micro-stratigraphic physicochemical approach to the rock art from the Oyola’s Caves (Argentina)

Could not be possible that rock paintings with similar hues and morphologies were the result of different paint preparations inside a cave but distanced in time? Is there any archaeometric approach that allow ...

Authors: Lucas Gheco, Marcos Tascon, Eugenia Ahets Etcheberry, Marcos Quesada and Fernando Marte

Insights into the yellowing of drying oils using fluorescence spectroscopy

Drying oils are commonly used in paintings and are prone to yellow discolouration from aging. Although there are numerous studies aimed at understanding their chemical composition, the yellowing process and it...

Authors: L. K. Cairns and P. B. C. Forbes

Quantification of formic acid and acetic acid emissions from heritage collections under indoor room conditions. Part I: laboratory and field measurements

The area-specific emission rates of formic acid and acetic acid from heritage objects made of wood and paper were quantified for normal indoor room conditions (23 °C, 50% RH) as well as for cooler (10 °C) and ...

Authors: Signe Hjerrild Smedemark, Morten Ryhl-Svendsen and Alexandra Schieweck

Microstructure and long-term corrosion of archaeological iron alloy artefacts

The smithing skills of craftsmen in the western Mediterranean during the early Iron Age can be determined by studying the microstructure of oxidised iron items. While some ghost structures have already been id...

Authors: A.-L. Grevey, V. Vignal, H. Krawiec, P. Ozga, K. Peche-Quilichini, A. Rivalan and F. Mazière

Pottery production and trades in Tamil Nadu region: new insights from Alagankulam and Keeladi excavation sites

This research is part of a wider scientific Italian-Indo project finalised to shed lights on pottery fabrication and trade circulation in Tamil Nadu region during Early Historical Period. The recent archaeolog...

Authors: E. Odelli, T. Selvaraj, J. Perumal, V. Palleschi, S. Legnaioli and S. Raneri

Uncovering hidden jewels: an investigation of the pictorial layers of an 18th-century Taskin harpsichord

The Peleș National Museum in Sinaia, Romania, includes within its collection of musical instruments a unique harpsichord of the Taskin workshop. The instrument is representative of the eighteenth century Frenc...

Authors: Ioana Maria Cortea, Luminița Ghervase, Lucian Ratoiu, Monica Dinu and Roxana Rădvan

Weathering mechanism of red discolorations on Limestone object: a case study from Lingyan Temple, Jinan, Shandong Province, China

Red discolorations are an effloresce phenomenon detect on the surface of stone objects and considered as damage factor in both esthetic and conservation points of view. It is very difficult to remove and seldo...

Authors: Jianrui Zha, Shuya Wei, Chuanchang Wang, Zhimin Li, Youzhen Cai and Qinglin Ma

Image-based metric heritage modeling in the near-infrared spectrum

Digital photogrammetry and spectral imaging are widely used in heritage sciences towards the comprehensive recording, understanding, and protection of historical artifacts and artworks. The availability of con...

Authors: Efstathios Adamopoulos, Alessandro Bovero and Fulvio Rinaudo

Systematic mechanical assessment of consolidants for canvas reinforcement under controlled environment

In conservation, adhesives are commonly used for the consolidation of canvases, yet their impact upon the canvas longevity has raised some concerns amongst conservators. As such, this study presents a testing ...

Authors: Alexandra Bridarolli, Anna Nualart-Torroja, Aurélia Chevalier, Marianne Odlyha and Laurent Bozec

Rapid identification of cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate film in historic photograph collections

Cellulose nitrate transparent plastic film was used by photographers and movie filmmakers from its release in the 1880s to the 1950s. The storage of this material is a challenge for cultural institutions becau...

Authors: Elizabeth A. Carter, Brad Swarbrick, Thérèse M. Harrison and Lucilla Ronai

New insights to assess the consolidation of stone materials used in built heritage: the case study of ancient graffiti (Tituli Picti) in the archaeological site of Pompeii

Tituli Picti are an ancient form of urban graffiti very common in the archaeological site of Pompeii (Naples, South—Italy). They are generally made of red pigments applied on walls of Campanian ignimbrite. This p...

Authors: Silvestro Antonio Ruffolo, Natalia Rovella, Anna Arcudi, Vincenza Crupi, Domenico Majolino, Massimo Osanna, Rossella Pace, Alessia Pantuso, Luciana Randazzo, Michela Ricca, Nicola Ruggieri, Valentina Venuti and Mauro Francesco La Russa

The long-term monitoring and evaluation of cement-based grout used to govern the water seepage of karst caves in China

Water seepage is the primary cause of stone carvings corrosion in karst caverns, which is typically treated with cement-based grout intervention. In this paper, long-term monitoring (more than 1 1/2 years) was...

Authors: Shiqiang Fang, Bingjian Zhang and Kun Zhang

European ceramic technology in the Far East: enamels and pigments in Japanese art from the 16th to the 20th century and their reverse influence on China

The production of Japanese enamels for porcelain decoration was thought to have originated from the direct and exclusive influence of Chinese potters who moved to Japan during the chaotic Ming to Qing dynastic...

Authors: Riccardo Montanari, Nobuyuki Murakami, Philippe Colomban, Maria Francesca Alberghina, Claudia Pelosi and Salvatore Schiavone

Funerary colors in Pre-classical Maya culture: the red pigment in the 19th tomb of Rio Azul (Peten, Guatemala)

The pigments were important in the funerary customs of the ancient Maya. They could be introduced as an offering inside the tombs or burials, and were also used to wrap the dead bodies, as if it were a funeral...

Authors: María Teresa Doménech-Carbó, María Luisa Vázquez de Agredos-Pascual, Laura Osete-Cortina, Antonio Doménech-Carbó, Nuria Guasch-Ferré and Cristina Vidal-Lorenzo

Correction to: Supply ranges of stone blocks used in masonry bridges and their construction period along the East Royal Road in the Khmer Empire, Cambodia

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Authors: Etsuo Uchida, Yuichiro Sakurai, Rathborith Cheng, Ichita Shimoda and Yu Saito

Chemical-technological research and radiocarbon AMS dating of wall painting fragments from the ruins of the XIIth-XIIIth centuries AD church from archaeological excavations in the city of Smolensk, Russia

In 2012, the ruins of a temple of the old Russian period were found during archaeological research in the medieval historical territory of Smolensk. The archaeological complex consists of the ruins of an ancie...

Authors: Konstantin Voronin and Mariya Kabanova

Oak wood degradation processes induced by the burial environment in the archaeological site of Biskupin (Poland)

The open-air Archaeological Museum in Biskupin (Poland) preserves and shows to the public a prehistoric settlement of Lusatian culture dating back to Early Iron Age (eighth century BC). The monitoring of the e...

Authors: Jeannette Jacqueline Lucejko, Diego Tamburini, Magdalena Zborowska, Leszek Babiński, Francesca Modugno and Maria Perla Colombini

A review of solvent action on oil paint

The science of oil paint cleaning is an interdisciplinary and challenging field of study due to the complex nature of both paintings and cleaning materials. The topic requires an intimate and iterative collabo...

Authors: Lambert Baij, Joen Hermans, Bronwyn Ormsby, Petria Noble, Piet Iedema and Katrien Keune

Innovative methods for the removal, and occasionally care, of pressure sensitive adhesive tapes from contemporary drawings

Aged pressure sensitive tapes (PSTs) can compromise the integrity and readability of drawings and paper artworks. Typically, PSTs on contemporary artifacts are difficult to remove owing to degradation processe...

Authors: Antonio Mirabile, David Chelazzi, Pamela Ferrari, Costanza Montis, Debora Berti, Nicole Bonelli, Rodorico Giorgi and Piero Baglioni

Correction to: Reviving WHAAM! a comparative evaluation of cleaning systems for the conservation treatment of Roy Lichtenstein’s iconic painting

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Authors: Angelica Bartoletti, Rachel Barker, David Chelazzi, Nicole Bonelli, Piero Baglioni, Judith Lee, Lora V. Angelova and Bronwyn Ormsby

The synergistic effect of an imidazolium salt and benzotriazole on the protection of bronze surfaces with chitosan-based coatings

The class of imidazolium salts contains effective anticorrosion additives for metal substrates. This study evaluated the potential of 1-carboxymethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (HO₂CC

Authors: Debora Kelen Silva da Conceição, Kauana Nunes de Almeida, Elsa Nhuch, Maria Grazia Raucci, Chiara Santillo, Martina Salzano de Luna, Luigi Ambrosio, Marino Lavorgna, Chiara Giuliani, Gabriella Di Carlo, Maria Paola Staccioli, Tiago Falcade and Henri Stephan Schrekker

Salvator Mundi: an investigation of the painting’s materials and techniques

Before the start of its restoration in 2007, the Salvator Mundi was thought to be one of a number of copies of a long-lost Leonardo da Vinci painting, depicting Christ giving a blessing with his right hand while ...

Authors: Nica Gutman Rieppi, Beth A. Price, Ken Sutherland, Andrew P. Lins, Richard Newman, Peng Wang, Ting Wang and Thomas J. Tague Jr.

Supply ranges of stone blocks used in masonry bridges and their construction period along the East Royal Road in the Khmer Empire, Cambodia

During the Angkor period, there were five Royal Roads linking the capital city of Angkor with provincial principal cities. Seven Temples d’étape, six Fire Shrines, and 25 masonry bridges were constructed along...

Authors: Etsuo Uchida, Yuichiro Sakurai, Rathborith Cheng, Ichita Shimoda and Yu Saito

Protection of glazed tiles in ancient buildings of China

Silicon materials containing fluorine with similar nanoscale particles (SIC-1 and SIC-2) and organic silicon resin materials with excellent hydrophobicity (SIC-3) were selected to deal with glaze shedding and ...

Authors: Dilireba Adili, Jing Zhao, Lu Yang, Peng Zhao, Cong Wang and Hongjie Luo

Fighting and burial: the production of bronze weapons in the Shu state based on a case study of Xinghelu cemetery, Chengdu, China

This article discusses the bronze weapons discovered in the Xinghelu cemetery of Chengdu, China in order to study the production of bronze weapons in the Shu state. Metallographic microscopy, inductively coupl...

Authors: Haichao Li, Zhiqing Zhou, Yang Liu, Yi Wang, Zhankui Wang, Lin Wang, Jianbo Tian and Jianfeng Cui

Facilitating the conservation treatment of Eva Hesse’s Addendum through practice-based research, including a comparative evaluation of novel cleaning systems

This paper describes the methodology and practice-based research underpinning the development of a successful cleaning strategy for Eva Hesse’s sculpture Addendum (1967, Tate Collection T02394). Research strands ...

Authors: Angelica Bartoletti, Tamar Maor, David Chelazzi, Nicole Bonelli, Piero Baglioni, Lora V. Angelova and Bronwyn A. Ormsby

Microclimate numerical simulation to obtain the minimum safe distances between a painted wood panel and the inner face of an exterior wall

This study provides a detailed understanding of the heat fluxes and temperatures that take place in the channel between the inner face of an exterior wall and the back of a painted wood panel hung on it. This is ...

Authors: Santi Ferrer, Gema Campo-Francés, Cristina Ruiz-Recasens and Marta Oriola-Folch

A diagnostic tool for assessing the conservation condition of cellulose nitrate and acetate in heritage collections: quantifying the degree of substitution by infrared spectroscopy

Cellulose nitrate and acetate are materials at risk in heritage collections because it is not possible to predict the evolution of their conservation state over time. Knowing that the degree of substitution (D...

Authors: Sofia Nunes, Francesca Ramacciotti, Artur Neves, Eva Marisole Angelin, Ana Maria Ramos, Élia Roldão, Nadja Wallaszkovits, Alfonso Alejo Armijo and Maria João Melo

Oxidative degradation of archaeological wood and the effect of alum, iron and calcium salts

Oxygen consumption measurement was used to study potential oxidative degradation reactions occurring in wooden artefacts from the Viking age Oseberg collection in Norway. Model samples of fresh birch were impr...

Authors: Caitlin M. A. McQueen, Martin N. Mortensen, Francesco Caruso, Sara Mantellato and Susan Braovac

Quantitative analysis of mixed pigments for Chinese paintings using the improved method of ratio spectra derivative spectrophotometry based on mode

Mixed pigment analysis is an important and complex subject in preserving and restoring Chinese paintings since the colors observed by our naked eyes or instruments such as hyperspectral cameras are usually a m...

Authors: Shuqiang Lyu, Yiyi Liu, Miaole Hou, Qinli Yin, Wangting Wu and Xueyun Yang

Johannes Vermeer’s Mistress and Maid: new discoveries cast light on changes to the composition and the discoloration of some paint passages

Among the thirty-six paintings ascribed to the Dutch seventeenth century artist Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), Mistress and Maid, in The Frick Collection, stands out for the large-scale figures set against a rathe...

Authors: Dorothy Mahon, Silvia A. Centeno, Margaret Iacono, Federico Carό, Heike Stege and Andrea Obermeier

Study on microbubble of cellulose acetate microfilm of the Republic of China (AD 1912–1949) collected in the Second Historical Archives of China

The white spots known as microbubbles that are formed in cellulose acetate film, significantly affects the texture of the image. However, the formation of microbubbles and their corresponding microstructure ar...

Authors: Zhihui Jia, Yuhu Li, Yunpeng Qi, Yajun Zhou, Daodao Hu, Xiaolian Chao, Huiping Xing and Jing Li

Linear feature extraction from point cloud using color information

LiDAR is considered as an effective technology for digitizing the real scene at a very high-resolution and in a short time. However, the resolution of the LiDAR is not sufficient to identify and evaluate the f...

Authors: Yahya Alshawabkeh

Improved spectral imaging microscopy for cultural heritage through oblique illumination

This work presents the development of a flexible microscopic chemical imaging platform for cultural heritage that utilizes wavelength-tunable oblique illumination from a point source to obtain per-pixel reflec...

Authors: Lindsay Oakley, Stephanie Zaleski, Billie Males, Oliver Cossairt and Marc Walton

The technical (re-)examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

Authors: Abbie Vandivere

Modelling wooden cultural heritage. The need to consider each artefact as unique as illustrated by the Cannone violin

This research work investigates the possibility to use a hygroscopic model based on Fick’s law to predict the global moisture content variations an historical violin undergoes during a concert. To set up the m...

Authors: Bertrand Marcon, Giacomo Goli and Marco Fioravanti

The Girl in the Spotlight: Vermeer at work, his materials and techniques in Girl with a Pearl Earring

The 2018 technical examination project The Girl in the Spotlight aimed to characterise the materials and techniques that Johannes Vermeer used to paint Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis). Five resea...

Authors: Abbie Vandivere, Jørgen Wadum and Emilien Leonhardt

Out of the blue: Vermeer’s use of ultramarine in Girl with a Pearl Earring

Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) is known for his brilliant blue colours, and his frequent use of the costly natural ultramarine. This paper reveals new findings about ultramarine in the headscarf of Girl with a Pear...

Authors: Annelies van Loon, Alessa A. Gambardella, Victor Gonzalez, Marine Cotte, Wout De Nolf, Katrien Keune, Emilien Leonhardt, Suzan de Groot, Art Ness Proaño Gaibor and Abbie Vandivere

Novel nanomaterials to stabilise the canvas support of paintings assessed from a conservator’s point of view

During conservation treatment, consolidants and deacidifying agents can be added to the canvas of a painting to mechanically stabilise it and counteract the acidity that promotes degradation. In this study, ne...

Authors: Marta Oriola-Folch, Gema Campo-Francés, Anna Nualart-Torroja, Cristina Ruiz-Recasens and Iris Bautista-Morenilla

Applying micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and Raman spectroscopy for non-invasive characterization of coating and coating pigments on ancient Chinese papers

The coating technique, supposedly invented by Chinese papermakers no later than the 3rd century AD, greatly improved paper sheets’ qualities of color, texture, writability, and printability. Alongside the disp...

Authors: Tao Li, Chuang Liu and Dongmei Wang

A preliminary study of Liu Kang’s palette and the discovery and interpretation of hidden paint layers

This paper presents an overview of the results from the ongoing study on the materials and painting technique of the pioneering Singapore artist—Liu Kang. The paintings Zuo La Lu and Nude, which represent two of ...

Authors: Damian Lizun