Articles

Effect of solvent on PARALOID^® B72 and B44 acrylic resins used as adhesives in conservation

Paraloid^® is one of the most frequently used acrylic polymers, employed mainly for its adhesive and consolidating properties in the conservation of a wide range of materials. Appreciated for its reversibility, me...

Authors: Armand Vinçotte, Emmie Beauvoit, Nicolas Boyard and Elodie Guilminot

Studies on wall painting materials and techniques at two historic buildings in Gyantse, Tibet

This paper presents a scientific examination of wall paintings at two nonmonastic sites in Gyantse, Tibet: Gazhi Lhakang, which is a family temple built in the mid-eighteenth century by local aristocrats, and ...

Authors: Xinhui Yang, Xinyan Ji, Yongkang Cao and Taoyi Yu

Restoration of an ancient temple mural by a local search algorithm of an adaptive sample block

Long-term influences in the external environment, including light, temperature and humidity, have caused varying degrees of damage to ancient Chinese murals. Allowing people to appreciate the original style of...

Authors: Jianfang Cao, Yanfei Li, Qi Zhang and Hongyan Cui

Drying response of lime-mortar joints in granite masonry after an intense rainfall and after repointing

When rain impacts a building façade, it is essential that once it has entered, it leaves by evaporation to help the building dry out. Accumulation of moisture can lead to internal dampness, mould and decay of ...

Authors: Lucie Fusade, Scott Allan Orr, Chris Wood, Meriel O’Dowd and Heather Viles

So you want to do biocodicology? A field guide to the biological analysis of parchment

Biocodicology, the study of the biological information stored in manuscripts, offers the possibility of interrogating manuscripts in novel ways. Exploring the biological data associated to parchment documents ...

Authors: Sarah Fiddyment, Matthew D. Teasdale, Jiří Vnouček, Élodie Lévêque, Annelise Binois and Matthew J. Collins

Characterization of the residues in Han Dynasty bronze lamps by pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

The fuel residues in two bronze lamps excavated from Haihunhou Tomb in the Han Dynasty, in Jiangxi Province, China, were studied in this paper. The techniques of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy...

Authors: Huarui Han, Shuya Wei, Jun Yang, Li Guan and Wenhuan Li

Recent progress in instrumental techniques for architectural heritage materials

Both conservation and intervention methods must be compatible with each other and appropriate for the original building materials. Therefore, the characterization of historic building materials is indispensabl...

Authors: Chen Zhao, Yiwen Zhang, Chong-Chen Wang, Miaole Hou and Aiqun Li

A new bio-based organogel for the removal of wax coating from indoor bronze surfaces

In this research, we propose an advanced system for the cleaning of wax-based coatings applied on indoor bronzes. To this aim we developed a new kind of eco-friendly gel based on PHB (poly-3-hydroxybutyrate) u...

Authors: Jia Yiming, Giorgia Sciutto, Silvia Prati, Emilio Catelli, Monica Galeotti, Simone Porcinai, Laura Mazzocchetti, Chiara Samorì, Paola Galletti, Loris Giorgini, Emilio Tagliavini and Rocco Mazzeo

A Raman micro-spectroscopy study of 77,000 to 71,000 year old ochre processing tools from Sibudu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Many Middle Stone Age sites in South Africa yielded hundreds, even thousands, of ochre pieces sometimes showing use traces. Less attention has been paid to the tools used for their processing. Here, seven tool...

Authors: Marine Wojcieszak and Lyn Wadley

An archaeometric approach to the majolica pottery from alcazar of Nájera archaeological site

The city of Nájera, located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, hosts an alcazar of Arab origin, which became the residence of the king of Pamplona-Nájera and later of the duke and duchess of Nájera. From t...

Authors: Estefania Calparsoro, Uxue Sanchez-Garmendia, Gorka Arana, Maite Maguregui and Javier G. Iñañez

Solvent-mediated extraction of fatty acids in bilayer oil paint models: a comparative analysis of solvent application methods

The impact of solvent exposure on oil paintings and the differences between solvent application methods are longstanding topics in cleaning studies. Solvent exposure is ideally kept to a minimum, because solve...

Authors: Lambert Baij, Alina Astefanei, Joen Hermans, Francine Brinkhuis, Heleen Groenewegen, Louise Chassouant, Sofia Johansson, Garry Corthals, Caroline Tokarski, Piet Iedema and Katrien Keune

Preliminary results from a legacy indicator tool for measuring climate change related impacts on built heritage

Gradual changes in weathering rates and mechanisms are the barely visible impacts of climate change on cultural heritage. Long-term monitoring of built and archaeological heritage is therefore necessary to asc...

Authors: Cathy Daly

Multi-modal tomography to assess dechlorination treatments of iron-based archaeological artifacts

Chloride ions are an important actor in the corrosion of iron-based archaeological artifact. To stop this degradation, excavated objects are subjected to dechlorination treatment. However, there is no guarante...

Authors: Mathieu Jacot-Guillarmod, Katharina Schmidt-Ott, David Mannes, Anders Kaestner, Eberhard Lehmann and Claire Gervais

The behaviour of as-applied and artificially weathered silica–epoxy consolidants on a typical Mediterranean porous limestone: a comparison with TEOS

A water based epoxy–silica consolidant and variants of the same consolidant containing silica nanoparticles (NP) were applied to Globigerina Limestone (GL) blocks by brushing and full immersion techniques. The...

Authors: Sophie M. Briffa and Daniel A. Vella

Model study of the leather degradation by oxidation and hydrolysis

Many objects of culture heritage, comprised of leather, need to receive the right treatment to be restored and to elongate their lifespan. Determination of the degradation degree and even better the type of th...

Authors: Gabriela Vyskočilová, Matthäa Ebersbach, Radka Kopecká, Lubomír Prokeš and Jiří Příhoda

Visualizing and measuring gold leaf in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Italian gold ground paintings using scanning macro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy: a new tool for advancing art historical research

The size, shape, and application techniques of gold leaf in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century gold ground panel paintings attributed to artists working in Florence, Siena, and Fabriano was directly visualized ...

Authors: Douglas MacLennan, Laura Llewellyn, John K. Delaney, Kathryn A. Dooley, Catherine Schmidt Patterson, Yvonne Szafran and Karen Trentelman

The evolution of the materials used in the yun technique for the decoration of Burmese objects: lacquer, binding media and pigments

A series of Burmese lacquered objects decorated with the yun (incised) technique and belonging to the British Museum’s collection was analysed with the aim to investigate the decorative materials—lacquer, binding...

Authors: Diego Tamburini, Verena Kotonski, Anna Lluveras-Tenorio, Maria Perla Colombini and Alexandra Green

Kandinsky’s fragile art: a multidisciplinary investigation of four early reverse glass paintings (1911–1914) by Wassily Kandinsky

This work highlights the rediscovery of the technique of reverse glass painting by the artists of the “Blaue Reiter” collective in the early 20th-century and focusses particularly on the role of Wassily Kandin...

Authors: Simon Steger, Diana Oesterle, Simone Bretz, Lisa Frenzel, Heike Stege, Iris Winkelmeyer, Oliver Hahn and Gisela Geiger

Geotechnical and geophysical investigation techniques in Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo area, Egypt

The Ben Ezra Synagogue or El-Geniza Synagogue or the Synagogue of the Levantines, is located in the Coptic section of Old Cairo area. It is considered the oldest Synagogue or Jewish temple found in Egypt repre...

Authors: Sayed Hemeda

Evaluation of polyvinyl alcohol–borax/agarose (PVA–B/AG) blend hydrogels for removal of deteriorated consolidants from ancient Egyptian wall paintings

This study concerns the assessment of a new polyvinyl alcohol–borax/agarose blend hydrogel (PVA–B/AG) tailored for the conservation of ancient Egyptian wall paintings. The increasing problems of deteriorated c...

Authors: Ehab Al-Emam, Abdel Ghafour Motawea, Koen Janssens and Joost Caen

Azurite in medieval illuminated manuscripts: a reflection-FTIR study concerning the characterization of binding media

In illuminated manuscripts, a reliable identification of oxyanion pigments such as azurite by rFTIR is simple, as several combination and overtone bands are strongly enhanced compared to transmission mode. How...

Authors: Wilfried Vetter, Irene Latini and Manfred Schreiner

Duplication of uniqueness: electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary art

The nature printing technique was designed for the electrotyping reproduction of leaves and other natural products. Authentic impressions could be performed by inserting leaves between two lead plates or press...

Authors: Valentina Ljubić Tobisch, Albina Selimović, Anna Artaker, Martin Klobassa and Wolfgang Kautek

Characterization of the microstructural features and the rust layers of an archaeological iron sword in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (380–500 A.D.)

In this paper, a sword is investigated from a collection of archaeological iron swords displayed in the Egyptian Museum from the civilization centered on Ballana and Qustul in Egyptian Nubia (380–600 A.D.). A ...

Authors: Yussri Salem, Omid Oudbashi and Doaa Eid

Historical lead seals and the influence of disinfectants on the lead corrosion rate

Lead used to be a common material for setting seal to historical documents. Lead seals formed parts of historical documents as a guarantee of their legal validity. Disinfectants are commonly used during the re...

Authors: Sarka Msallamova, Milan Kouril, Kristyna Charllote Strachotova, Jan Stoulil, Kateryna Popova and Pavla Dvorakova

Combined photoluminescence and Raman microscopy for the identification of modern pigments: explanatory examples on cross-sections from Russian avant-garde paintings

In conservation science, the identification of painting materials is fundamental for the study of artists’ palettes, for dating and for understanding on-going degradation phenomena. For these purposes, the stu...

Authors: Alessia Artesani, Marta Ghirardello, Sara Mosca, Austin Nevin, Gianluca Valentini and Daniela Comelli

Fluid simulations in heritage science

This review addresses the use of computational fluid dynamics for the interpretation and preservation of heritage. Fluid dynamic simulations in the heritage field focus mostly on slow air movement in indoor sp...

Authors: Josep Grau-Bové, Luca Mazzei, Matija Strlic and May Cassar

Dyes and biological sources in nineteenth to twentieth century ethnographic textiles from Transylvania, Romania

Liquid chromatography with UV–Vis and mass spectrometric detection (LC–DAD–MS) was applied to the identification of dyes and biological sources in samples from nineteenth to twentieth century ethnographic text...

Authors: Irina Petroviciu, Iulia Teodorescu, Florin Albu, Marian Virgolici, Eugenia Nagoda and Andrei Medvedovici

An evaluation system for the development of scaling off at earthen sites in arid areas in NW China

Earthen sites are valuable cultural heritage sites in arid regions of NW China, where a series of serious deteriorations have developed. Scaling off is a typical type of deterioration that greatly threatens th...

Authors: Kai Cui, Yumin Du, Yinghui Zhang, Guopeng Wu and Li Yu

An enhanced procedure for the analysis of organic binders in Pompeian’s wall paintings from Insula Occidentalis

Quantitation of paint powders of ancient wall paintings is often hindered by the calcite contamination during samples withdrawal. To overcome this problem, a new approach was explored based on the mechanical p...

Authors: Monica Gelzo, Gaetano Corso, Rita Pecce, Ottavia Arcari, Ciro Piccioli, Antonio Dello Russo and Paolo Arcari

Documentation of paintings restoration through photogrammetry and change detection algorithms

The philosophical and theoretical foundations of the Theory of Restoration, envisioned by Cesare Brandi in 1975, are established around clear and straightforward guidelines on what is ethically acceptable, and...

Authors: Dante Abate

Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part II: an epidemiological study

This paper proposes a new approach to collection surveying based on epidemiology, the discipline that describes and explains disease patterns in populations. In epidemiology the focus of attention lies not onl...

Authors: Cristina Duran-Casablancas, Josep Grau-Bové, Tom Fearn and Matija Strlič

Accumulation of wear and tear in archival and library collections. Part I: exploring the concepts of reliability and epidemiology

Wear and tear is the outcome of degradation most frequently reported in assessments of archival and library collections. It is also problematic to study in controlled experiments, due to the difficulty in repr...

Authors: Cristina Duran-Casablancas, Josep Grau-Bové and Matija Strlič

Developing a systematic approach to determine the sequence of impressions of Japanese woodblock prints: the case of Hokusai’s ‘Red Fuji’

Ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints were mass-produced in the Edo Period and early impressions of a given print are generally of higher quality and more sought after by connoisseurs than late impressions. The pr...

Authors: Capucine F. Korenberg, Lucia Pereira-Pardo, Peter J. McElhinney and Joanne Dyer

Synthetic materials in art: a new comprehensive approach for the characterization of multi-material artworks by analytical pyrolysis

Modern art materials introduced since the end of XIX century include a large number of formulations of synthetic polymers and pigments, whose degradation processes and best preservation conditions are a major ...

Authors: Jacopo La Nasa, Greta Biale, Francesca Sabatini, Ilaria Degano, Maria Perla Colombini and Francesca Modugno

Non-invasive identification of paint binders in illuminated manuscripts by ER-FTIR spectroscopy: a systematic study of the influence of different pigments on the binders’ characteristic spectral features

This paper presents the results of a study of pigment-binder systems painted on parchment, both in the form of reference samples prepared in the laboratory, and of medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscri...

Authors: Luca Nodari and Paola Ricciardi

3D finite element coupled analysis model for geotechnical and complex structural problems of historic masonry structures: conservation of Abu Serga church, Cairo, Egypt

This research presents the damage mechanism of a historical masonry architecture induced by differential settlement based on 3D FE analysis. The purpose of the study was to investigate the behavior fully-satur...

Authors: Sayed Hemeda

Interactions on site between powdering porous limestone, natural salt mixtures and applied ammonium oxalate

The consolidation of powdering porous limestone with ammonium oxalate treatment is hereby being examined through its performance in the field. The literature to date reports this treatment’s potential use for ...

Authors: Tabitha Dreyfuss

Acid solution decreases the compressional wave velocity of sandstone from the Yungang Grottoes, Datong, China

To understand the effects of an acidic environment on the internal structure of sandstone from the Yungang Grottoes, Datong, China, the physicochemical properties of fresh and weathered sandstone samples and t...

Authors: Hong Geng, Shijie Zhang, Jianhui Zhi, Runping Zhang, Jianguang Ren and Chul-Un Ro

In situ non-invasive multianalytical methodology to characterize mosaic tesserae from the House of Gilded Cupids, Pompeii

Mosaics, one of the most important decorative artworks in the Roman culture, were usually elaborated with a set of tesserae joined with lime or others binders to form geometric or figurative decorations. The i...

Authors: Iker Marcaida, Maite Maguregui, Héctor Morillas, Nagore Prieto-Taboada, Marco Veneranda, Silvia Fdez-Ortiz de Vallejuelo, Alberta Martellone, Bruno De Nigris, Massimo Osanna and Juan Manuel Madariaga

Colouring of Pacific barkcloths: identification of the brown, red and yellow colourants used in the decoration of historic Pacific barkcloths

Barkcloth textiles made in the Pacific islands and collected by western explorers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries form part of many museum collections worldwide. Here high-performance liquid chromat...

Authors: T. H. Flowers, M. J. Smith and J. Brunton

Unveiling Harriet Backer: ICP–OES study for the characterisation of the colour tubes from her original paint box

Micro-samples from 57 original paint tubes used between 1904 and 1909 by the Norwegian painter, Harriet Backer were studied with inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP–OES). This accurat...

Authors: Francesco Caruso, Sara Mantellato, Noëlle L. W. Streeton and Tine Frøysaker

Navigating conservation strategies: linking material research on alum-treated wood from the Oseberg collection to conservation decisions

From the mid-1800s to the late 1950s, conservation by alum salts (aluminum potassium sulfate dodecahydrate)—with some variations—was a routine method for treating highly deteriorated waterlogged archaeological...

Authors: Susan Braovac, Caitlin M. A. McQueen, Malin Sahlstedt, Hartmut Kutzke, Jeannette J. Łucejko and Torunn Klokkernes

Multi-instrumental approach with archival research to study the Norwich textile industry in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries: the example of a Norwich pattern book dated c. 1790–1793

Merchant-manufacturers in Norwich, a major centre for textile production in England, used pattern books and pattern cards containing swatches of worsted and worsted mixed with other yarns to facilitate sales a...

Authors: Jocelyn Alcántara-García and Michael Nix

Ink marks, bronze crossbows and their implications for the Qin Terracotta Army

At the heart of bureaucratic practice during Warring States and early Imperial China were regular, small acts of accountancy in which objects and people were marked so that their movements could be kept track ...

Authors: Andrew Bevan, Xiuzhen Li, Zhen Zhao, Jianhua Huang, Stuart Laidlaw, Na Xi, Yin Xia, Shengtao Ma and Marcos Martinon-Torres

Synchrotron tts-µXRD identification of secondary phases in ancient ceramics

The study of the alteration process, and in particular of secondary phases precipitated in pottery after its production, can constrain the post-depositional environments or the type of use of the pottery. Deta...

Authors: Lara Maritan, Lluís Casas, Anna Crespi, Elisa Gravagna, Jordi Rius, Oriol Vallcorba and Donatella Usai

Reconstructing ancient architecture at Tiwanaku, Bolivia: the potential and promise of 3D printing

The ruins of Tiwanaku (A.D. 500–950), in the modern republic of Bolivia, present an archaeological challenge owing to intense looting during the colonial period that effectively demolished the site. One buildi...

Authors: Alexei Vranich

Indoor air pollution impact on cultural heritage in an urban and a rural location in Romania: the National military museum in Bucharest and the Tismana monastery in Gorj County

Assessment was performed of the air quality related risk to the conservation of cultural heritage objects in one urban and one rural indoor location in Romania, with expected different air quality related cons...

Authors: Terje Grøntoft and Octaviana Marincas

Hygro-mechanical response of oak wood cabinet door panels under relative humidity fluctuations

Indoor climate fluctuations are regarded as one of the major risks for the emergence of damage in historical works of art. For a safe preservation of their art objects museums try to minimize this risk, which ...

Authors: R. A. Luimes, A. S. J. Suiker, A. J. M. Jorissen, P. H. J. C. van Duin and H. L. Schellen

Response to rebuttal by Grima et al. elaborating on misleading conclusion in paper on “Pollution Monitoring for Sea Salt Aerosols at Hagar Qim-A Pilot Study” concerning salt decay after sheltering an archaeological site in Malta

Authors: JoAnn Cassar, Shirley Cefai, Reuben Grima and Katya Stroud

A rebuttal in defence of misinterpretation of the Galea et al. 2016 paper entitled “Pollution monitoring for sea salt aerosols and other anionic species at Hagar Qim Temples, Malta: a pilot study”

Authors: Matthew Grima, Mario Galea and Roslyn DeBattista