Sound Practice and Practical Conservation Recipes as Described in Greek Post-Byzantine Painters’ Manuals

Post-medieval Greek painting manuals, exemplified by the Hermeneia of the Art of Painting by Dionysius of Fourna, were often copied, enriched, and widely used in icon-painter workshops until the twentieth century. These manuals reflect the accumulated experience of many generations of painters and include sections that pertain to preparation and application of materials and handling of works. Here we present, discuss, and, in some cases, compare with pertinent western instructions and experimental findings (deriving from the analysis of icons and wall paintings), key Greek manual instructions for sound practice, and practical conservation of paintings. Instructions in consideration come from both the published version of Hermeneia and various unpublished manuals; it is shown that the first part of the widely circulating standard edition of Dionysius is by no means an exhaustive account of post-Byzantine technical knowledge.     

Mineralogical-chemical Alteration and Origin of Ignimbritic Stones Used in the Old Cathedral of Nostra Signora di Castro (Sardinia,Italy)

ABSTRACT

The pyroclastic rocks belonging to the Late Eocene-Miocene volcanic activity that occurred in Sardinia between 38 and 15 Ma ago were widely used as construction materials in several Romanesque churches of the easternmost Logudoro area, as well as in large parts of the Sardinia territory. In this work, the ancient Cathedral of Nostra Signora di Castro (twelfth century) was taken as a representative case study. There is no historical or archaeological evidence of ancient quarries. Based on the geochemical, petrographic, and volcanological data on several samples from an extensive field area (approximately 150?km²), a geographical zoning of the volcanics has been recognised. In the Oschiri sector, there are three different sub-zones, which can be identified with different volcanic rocks: less fractionated rocks (Differentation Index ～70–78); intermediately fractionated rocks (D.I. ～76–79); and more fractionated rocks (D.I. ～77–82). To identify the origin of the ignimbrite rocks of the Church of Nostra Signora di Castro, two statistical methods were used: stepwise linear discriminant and canonical analysis. Moreover, to define the geochemical transformation processes induced by the alteration, a comparative study of concentrations of major and trace elements measured by XRF and SEM-EDX analyses on the surface portion and the innermost areas of the stone was made.     

Materials and techniques in the pictorial oeuvre of Lucio Fontana

Abstract

The painting materials used by Lucio Fontana were investigated through the analysis of 28 Spatial Concept works created between the early 1950s and the artist's death in 1968. The pictorial media were analyzed by means of numerous techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence. This study has provided a more complete understanding of the artist's technique, as it was found that Lucio Fontana had already begun experimenting with new synthetic pictorial and binding media such as alkyds and polyvinyl acetates at the beginning of the 1950s, and polyesters during the early 1960s. Although he never abandoned the use of commercial oil paints, Fontana's application of these new materials continued in an infinitely varied search for innovative expressive effects. The characterization results explain the physical and mechanical properties of the paint layers, and may be correlated with the conservation state of the works analyzed. All the results have been compiled and are discussed together with the artist's practices and their evolution over time.     

五彩圣旨材质及字迹颜料研究

圣旨是封建时期官方文书的最高形式,在制式上有着极为严格的规定并被冠以"祖制"沿袭。在一定意义上圣旨本身就是一种记录历史信息的档案。本文通过X荧光能谱仪对清晚期光绪年间的圣旨书写字迹的元素进行测定,并结合共焦显微拉曼光谱对颜料进行了无损定性研究。同时运用生物显微镜鉴定了圣旨的纤维材质,在了解历史信息的同时也为下一步圣旨的修复提供了参考资料。     

Portable X-ray fluorescence analysis of pesticides in the textile collection at the German Historical Museum,Berlin

The majority of the objects found in the textiles collection at the German Historical Museum in Berlin have been treated with different biocides at various points in the past. Prior to this study, the presence of organochlorinated pesticides in rooms and storage cabinets had already been proven in an analysis of air samples that employed gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. To estimate the risks these toxins pose to both collections and museum staff, we conducted a field study with the help of a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. In this study, we present an attempt at a reliable quantitative analysis. In addition to chlorine, other potentially hazardous elements such as lead, arsenic, and mercury were found in the majority of the objects. In some cases, however, it has to be taken into account that the detected elements might have originated from manufacturing processes rather than biocide treatments. Such knowledge is a crucial prerequisite to proper risk prediction.