Chromatic modulation technique for in-line surface monitoring and diagnostic

A fast and reliable surface monitoring and diagnostic technique is essential to develop a real-time automatic control system for laser cleaning of artworks. In this paper, an in-line surface monitoring and diagnostic system based on chromatic modulation using tristimulus detectors and fibre optics is presented. The system produces measurements that are dependent on the spectral signature of the incident light but are independent of intensity. In order to demonstrate its usefulness and versatility, the technique was applied to surface monitoring in the laser cleaning of metal and stone. Results show that the spectral parameters derived from chromatic detection not only provide a clear indication of the surface cleanliness and surface damage but also much surface chromatic information from its versatility. It is also shown in this paper how a chromatic modulation technique may be utilised as a robust method for monitoring and diagnosing the surface during laser cleaning.     

The authenticity of the museum experience in the digital age: the case of the Louvre

The technological shift of museums is extensively documented, even if research on the impact of technologies on cultural practices and social patterns at large is still lacking. As part of a research programme conducted by the Louvre and HEC Paris, the article proposes a conceptual analysis of ‘real’ (visiting the museum) and ‘virtual’ (visiting its website) experiences of museums. It contributes to the understanding of whether the two experiences are substitutes or complements using a newly created measurement scale. In addition, the article also aims at enriching the contemporary discussion on the artworks’ aura and the authenticity of the cultural experience in the digital age.     

Femtosecond laser cleaning of historical paper with sizing

Lasers have served as cleaning tools for historical objects and artworks for about 40 years. In many cases, superior results of laser cleaning were achieved with respect to traditional methods. In this technique, contaminations on the surface of the object are ablated by laser irradiation. In order to apply laser cleaning method to fragile materials such as paper made of cellulose or parchment, heat deposition to the bulk should be minimal, to prevent damage. In this work, it is demonstrated that laser pulses with femtosecond (fs) duration can exhibit non-thermal ablation of contaminants on paper samples. In particular, laser cleaning studies are concentrated on paper samples with sizing. Fs laser cleaning is performed on artificially soiled and aged samples, as well as on historical ones. The laser used in the experiments has pulse duration of 550 fs and 1030 nm center wavelength. The fluence of the laser is varied and the post-cleaning statuses of samples are investigated. The analyses are color changes, fiber integrity, chemical composition changes and mechanical strengths. These results show that fs lasers can be very efficient in cleaning paper samples, yielding minimal discoloration and no damage to fibers distinguishable on microscopic examination. The presence of sizing also provides further protection against possible side effects.     

Elemental analyses by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy as restoration test on a piece of ordnance

Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy was used to investigate the composition of a gun found in the Adriatic seabed and kept in the “S. Castromediano” Provincial Museum in Lecce (Italy). Optical emission spectra of the laser-induced plasma from the surface of the piece of ordnance were recorded before and after its restoration. The metal alloy of the gun was determined through the identification of characteristic atomic emissions and confirmed through microanalysis carried out by energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy. Experimental results evidenced that the gun is of bronze and revealed that elements composing the encrustation and noxious for the object conservation, such as calcium, were removed successfully during the cleaning operation. Performed elemental analyses confirmed that laser induced breakdown spectroscopy is a useful diagnostic tool to test the restoration degree of artworks.     

Initial results on laser cleaning at the Victoria & Albert Museum,Natural History Museum and Tate Gallery

A collaborative project between the Materials Department of Imperial College, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and the Tate Gallery was initiated with the objective of introducing laser cleaning in these London-based museums and establishing a long-term research collaboration. An access to these material conservation departments means that materials like traditional statuary materials, heavily corroded metals, ivory, palaeontological samples, textiles, stained glass, plaster and some modern materials can be used to investigate the usefulness of laser cleaning and study their effects using a wide range of analytical techniques.     

A topographical assessment and comparison of conservation cleaning treatments

The development of laser cleaning as a conservation treatment has imposed a need for the evaluation and assessment of other cleaning techniques. The use of more traditional methods like abrasive cleaning, steam cleaning and chemical cleaning has relied so far on visual assessment, unlike much of the research applied to laser cleaning. A conscientious use of these cleaning methods requires their assessment as well as the need for a comparison based on a common methodology. A topographical assessment of laser cleaning, abrasive cleaning, steam cleaning and chemical cleaning (using hydrofluoric acid, ammonium carbonate and EDTA) is presented. Topographical variations induced on marble, oolitic limestone and architectural terracotta surfaces are assessed by means of light interferometry, showing the potential of this non-contact and non-destructive technique for surface studies in conservation. The comparison between cleaning treatments is based upon key parameters associated with cleaning surfaces. The aesthetic impact of these treatments is verified by means of optical microscopy and quantified by colour measurement. Chemical analysis of the cleaned surface (EDS) is performed to investigate the removal of surface pollutants and the presence of residues. Finally, petrographical analysis was used to investigate the removal of pollutant layers and its effect on surface texture.     

An investigation into the effect of wavelength in the laser cleaning of parchment

An investigation has been undertaken into the effect of wavelength in the laser cleaning of parchment. Tests have been carried out using the fundamental (1 064 nm), second harmonic (532 nm) and fourth harmonic (266 nm) outputs from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (pulse length 10 ns). Initial testing was carried out on new parchment to characterise the damage caused by overcleaning. The fluence and wavelength of the laser beam were then optimised so that any damage to the parchment or loss of ink during dirt removal from a late eighteenth century parchment document were minimised. The cleaned surfaces were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy and analysed by measurement of the shrinkage temperature of cleaned collagen fibres. The laser-cleaned areas were compared with uncleaned areas and areas cleaned by traditional techniques.     

Laser cleaning: a study on greyish alteration induced on non-patinated marbles

During a conservative operation, a restorer noted a grey shade on a ‘fresh’ (recently fractured) marble surface during laser cleaning. Following this report, the authors began a study on ten Carrara white marble specimens polished on the surface and treated in the same restoration conditions using two types of laser equipment: the first one a Q-switched laser (20-ns pulse), the second one a short free-running laser with a medium pulsewidth of 20 μs. In a few specimens a grey shade appears on the surface. These specimens were investigated by optical microscopy in reflected and raking light and by SEM/EDX. After that, the same samples were embedded in resin and polished to obtain cross sections to be analysed in the same way. Results show that the white marble of the greyish samples contains very small fragments of pyrite (iron sulphide) of dark shiny aspect and that after cleaning the aspect of the fragment appreciably changes. The morphological studies allow two different behaviours of dark inclusion to be observed following the different laser pulses: the first one occurs after short-pulse laser treatment in the form of micro-explosion surrounding the pyrite grains (mechanical effect); the second one (medium pulsewidth) appears like a fusion and spread of particles on the surface. Results are reported showing microphotographs and SEM/EDS documentation.     

Digital preservation of Brazilian indigenous artworks: Generating high quality textures for 3D models

Three-dimensional (3D) digital preservation aims at generating 3D models of objects that have cultural or scientific value. It allows realistic visualization of objects through virtual museums or scientific applications, and the restoration of the preserved object in case of natural wear or accidents. This work contributes to this research area by presenting a method to improve color texture quality of 3D models obtained from color and depth images of a laser scanner. Although this device offers precise depth information, the resulting color information is still poor and limits the generation of realistic textures. Our approach is to capture photographs of the object with a high-resolution digital camera and use them to generate a new color texture for the 3D model. Our work proposes a practical technique, easy to replicate, to generate high quality textures for 3D models from photographs. The method is composed by three main steps: (1) calibration of the image acquisition devices; (2) data acquisition; and (3) texture generation. In this paper, we detail our color texture generation method and apply it on the digital preservation of many artworks made by native Brazilians (indians) from the Wauja and Karaja communities. These indigenous communities are acknowledged as great ceramic artists, each bearing their own main themes, using a very rich symbolism in their paintings. Their artworks represent important aspects of the native South American culture and their digital preservation is motivated by three main reasons: (1) their fragility; (2) the paintings loose their original appearance with time; and (3) the possibility of extinction of these communities. We present several results of preserved artworks with enhanced quality realistic texture maps. Also, we present a methodology to analyze the quality and accuracy of texture maps. The resulting 3D models can be visualized through a tool we developed to support the virtual exhibit of 3D preserved heritage.     

The auction market for artworks and their physical dimensions: Australia—1986 to 2009

Within a hedonic pricing model, the preferences of Australian art purchasers are investigated. Emphasis is placed on the impact of an artwork’s dimensions upon its auction price. A salient aspect of this is the first test of the ‘golden ratio’ hypothesis in a market situation. It is concluded that purchasers prefer paintings that deviate from the golden rule. The ‘orientation’ of works (portrait, landscape or square) as well as size also helps determine price. The impact of winning the Archibald portraiture prize (Australia’s foremost art prize) is found to have significant and positive impacts on winning artists’ prices. This suggests that purchasers are not fully informed. In addition, a previously unsuspected relationship between artwork dimensions and Archibald prize winners was found. As well as purchasers’ preferences, the artists’ choices of the dimensions of their artworks are considered.     

Holographic applications in evaluation of defect and cleaning procedures

Holographic interferometry (HI) was chosen as the diagnostic tool to support non-destructive identification of structural defects commonly found in numerous art conservation problems. Holographic recording provides the highest information content of the concerned artwork and by implementation of a portable pulse laser the procedure becomes vibration isolation free for use outside the laboratory. Nowadays, it is comprehensively appreciated from art conservators that detailed structural knowledge is essential when conservation of precious artworks is concerned. The versatility of a holographic interferometer when used to acquire explicit structural information of art objects is demonstrated here in characteristic cases.     

A spectral imaging methodology for determining on-line the optimum cleaning level of stonework

This study aims to introduce a new spectral imaging methodology that can be used to monitor on-line, non-destructively and in situ the cleaning level of pollution encrustation on stonework. The suggested technique is based on the optical properties of monochromatic light penetration in matter. The calculated differences of images, obtained at two different spectral bands, could reliably map the depth of cleaning. This novel approach was tested in the laboratory during laser cleaning trials on polluted stonework enabling high accuracy measurements (such as the detection of thin crust layers remaining on the under-cleaned marble surfaces). However, it may also apply for the monitoring of any other cleaning technique (micro air-abrasive, etc). A detailed presentation of the results will be demonstrated while the potential of its wide application on everyday conservation practice on stonework will be discussed.     

Yellowing effect and discoloration of pigments: experimental and theoretical studies

Two issues of great interest in the field of lasers in artwork conservation are the so-called yellowing effect and the discoloration of pigments. We have viewed these issues from a comprehensive point of view, considering all our present experimental results as well as ongoing modeling and theoretical calculations. The first concern to be discussed is the yellowing effect in laser cleaning of marble or stone artifacts. Although, in most cases, a yellowish layer exists underneath the black encrustation, the so-called ‘patina’, it has become clear that there are situations where yellowing cannot be attributed to an existing layer. In the present study, a light scattering model that may account for the yellowing is presented. This model considers a thin absorbent layer and the surface roughness and/or created voids and accounts for the reflectance spectra measured by (i) hyper-spectral imaging and (ii) integrating sphere. Additional experimental data, such as the absence of yellowing when the third harmonic of a Q-swihed Nd:YAG laser is used, support this model. A thorough understanding of the quantitative characteristics of pigment discoloration, on the other hand, has been attempted by means of X-ray diffraction and theoretical studies. The model developed suggests a nucleation process for cinnabar resulting in a structural modification within the volume of a pigment’s crystal or particle close to the ‘ablation front’, which extends for a few nanometers from its surface.     

Excimer laser removal of beeswax from galician granite monuments

The paper presents the use of laser radiation for cleaning of beeswax treated granite stone. In the early sixties, prestigious restorers decided to apply molten beeswax on the granite surface of valuable monuments with the aim of preventing the erosive action of atmospheric agents. An interesting example of this treatment is the Renaissance Frieze in the Cloister of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (Northwest Spain). With time, salt accumulation beneath the beeswax layer has caused an intense surface disintegration of granite. Conventional cleaning methods can destroy sculptured details of these emblematic monuments. For this reason, excimer laser cleaning has been chosen as a promising non contact, selective and environmentally friendly cleaning technique to be studied.The cleaning tests have been carried out using an excimer laser (ArF, 193 nm), with fluences between 0.5 and 2 J cm⁻² pulse⁻¹ and a spot area of 0.025 cm². Samples representing beeswax films over Roan granite have been irradiated and their degree of cleaning has been studied as a function of the number of pulses and the laser fluence.Cleaning efficiency has been evaluated by FT-Raman Spectroscopy, allowing to establish the beeswax ablation threshold and the ablation rate.Excimer laser cleaning allows a progressive and controlled removal of a few tenths of micrometers of beeswax per pulse without damaging the underlying granite stone.     

Fibre Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy as a non-invasive tool for investigating plastics degradation in contemporary art collections: A methodological study on an expanded polystyrene artwork

Fibre Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) is a well-established technique, widely used in the conservation field for in situ investigations and non-invasive diagnostics on traditional artworks. Nevertheless, there is little knowledge on the use of this technique for investigating modern artists materials used in contemporary artworks. The present study, carried out within the wider framework of the EC funded Project “POPART” (Preservation of Plastic ARTefacts in museum collections”), was aimed at investigating the possibility of extending the applications of FORS to synthetic polymers, and proposing this technique as new non-invasive analytical tool for diagnostics on plastic artworks in museum collections. Thus, a real case was selected from the permanent collection of the Conteporary Art Centre “Luigi Pecci” (Prato, Italy). The artwork, created in 1990 by the artist Stefano Arienti, was entirely constituted of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and it showed diffused signs of degradation. The need of singling out the main causes of deterioration in order to prevent further damages was evident. An in situ FORS measurements campaign was performed with the aim of gaining in-depth information about its conservation state and identifying the main agents responsible for the observed degradation. Thanks to the non-invasivity of the technique an extensive spectroscopic characterisation of different areas of the EPS surface could be performed and the spectral data were exploited to build a map of the degraded areas of the artwork. Data acquired in field were compared with those obtained from laboratory test performed on artificially aged EPS samples. These results helped in ascertaining the detrimental actions of the light sources used to back illuminate the artwork. In particular, in this case FORS proved to be effective in detecting EPS alterations before the chromatic effects became visually evident. These results suggested that FORS may be considered as a good candidate to be used for non-invasive investigations also on some modern materials and contemporary artworks. The research was completed with an interview to the artist Stefano Arienti, whose point of view was constructively integrated with the scientific results obtained. This emphasized the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the solution of conservative problem in the field of contemporary art.     

Laser cleaning of stone artefacts: a substitute or alternative method?

Laser cleaning of ancient marble and stone monuments is nowadays a well-accepted procedure in conservation. Operators and specialists are presently divided between those giving maximum confidence to this method of cleaning and others who, in contrast, are strongly critical and emphasise possible drawbacks and damages caused by laser. As any other method of cleaning, laser also offers advantages but at the same time is limited by drawbacks. Most conveniently, it should be integrated with the other methods. On the basis of the above considerations, the authors are proposing a combined procedure using laser cleaning as a first step – in this way removing the relevant part of black gypsum encrustation – followed by chemical methods as a final step. The latter, conveniently, could be accomplished by means of anion exchange resins, better than ammonium carbonate. An experimental check-up was made of four different methods applied on three different lithotypes on the façade of the Florentine Cathedral. Laser, micro-sandblasting, ammonium carbonate and sodium EDTA were the cleaning methods compared, whilst Carrara marble, green Serpentine (Verde di Prato) and a red limestone were the three lithotypes. Results are commented by showing differences in the advantages and drawbacks among the different methods on the various lithotypes.     

First experiments for the use of microblasting technique with powdered cellulose as a new tool for dry cleaning artworks on paper

This research evaluates the use of microblasting technique with powdered cellulose as a new tool for dry cleaning documents. Different cleaning tests were conducted on three documents with different properties following this new approach and the results were compared to those obtained with traditional dry cleaning with erasers. In order to assess changes caused to the supports, the treated documents were examined both before and after cleaning with optical and 3D stereomicroscopy, SEM-EDS and spectrophotometry. The results allow the conclusion that microblasting with powdered cellulose is a feasible technique to remove surface dirt or grime on paper documents. This research proves that the new use of the technique does not entail changes to the surface properties of the treated supports. Moreover, powdered cellulose is chemically stable and compatible with paper documents, preventing negative long-term effects derived from the presence of rubber residues that may remain in paper fibres when using erasers in dry cleaning treatments.     

SMART CLEAN: a new laser system with improved emission characteristics and transmission through long optical fibres

SMART CLEAN is an innovative Nd:YAG laser system that has been designed to optimize laser cleaning procedures, especially for the treatment of altered stone surfaces. The project, originated by the co-operation of researchers and enterprises involved in optoelectronics system development, was aimed at improving the intrinsic features of the laser source, as well as some practical aspects, in order to facilitate laser application in the restoration yard. Emission characteristics were suitably tailored to obtain effective removal of alteration layers, and to minimize possible side effects. In particular, the pulse duration of the SMART CLEAN laser was set at 20 μs, by means of a proprietary design of the power supply. This was in order to reduce the risk of both mechanical and thermal damage to the artwork substrate, which is more likely to occur with short and long laser pulses, respectively. Moreover, this pulse duration permitted a reliable transmission of high laser energy through long optical fibres (50 m), which allowed easy cleaning operations on façades. The laser system was tested on a large variety of lithotypes and in operative cleaning interventions on Italian monuments.