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This contribution presents the results of a technical investigation on the pigments of William Burges' Great Bookcase (1859–62), preserved at the Ashmolean Museum. It is the first thorough material investigation of a remarkable piece of Gothic Revival painted furniture, notably an artwork by Burges, whose work has so far received little attention from a technical point of view. This study was developed during the Covid-19 pandemic, which significantly affected the planned research activities since the investigation relied extensively on collaborations with institutions within and beyond the University of Oxford. The disruption caused by the lockdown and other restrictions went far beyond any prediction and led us to redefine the project's outcome and methodology 'on the fly' while maintaining its overall vision. However, thanks to the timeliness of a substantial research grant received from the Capability for Collection Fund (CapCo, Art and Humanities Research Council), we could ultimately turn this research into a unique opportunity to test the potential of recently acquired instruments, namely the Opus Apollo infrared camera and the Bruker CRONO XRF mapping spectrometer. Therefore, besides reporting on the findings, this contribution outlines the strategy adopted and assesses the new equipment's capability for the non-invasive analysis of complex polychromies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the nineteenth century, chemists became increasingly engaged in the conservation treatment of polychrome surfaces. While collaborations between chemists and museum workers in charge of easel painting collections were mostly oriented towards the improvement of conservation practices, the involvement of chemists in the nascent field of archaeology was oriented towards material characterization, such as pigment analysis of polychrome surfaces. Since this type of analysis is destructive and damages the artwork, it could, therefore, be assumed that chemists were in these cases less concerned with the conservation of objects with an archaeological and historical provenance. On the contrary, my new reading of nineteenth-century English primary sources reporting pigment analysis shows that chemists also had ethical concerns about the physical integrity of archaeological objects and their conservation. This is apparent in the process in which paint samples were taken from the artworks for their subsequent analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pigments used by the ancient Egyptians constitute the most diverse pigment palette of the ancient world. This review discusses the pigments and binders which were used, arranged principally in terms of the colours themselves, namely, the white, green, grey, black, brown, blue, red, orange, and yellow pigments. The chemical identity of these pigments is discussed with some details regarding the artefacts or time periods from which the pigment concerned has been identified. Combinations of pigments were used for creating some colours, especially: greens, pinks, blues, yellows, and a variety of pale hues by mixing primary colours with a white addition, such as calcite. The identification of ancient Egyptian pigments is often aggravated by chemical interactions between pigment and binder media, or between the pigment and environmental pollutants, or both. The nature of the binders and varnishes used in ancient Egypt is briefly discussed. The identification of green pigments from ancient Egypt is often difficult, and some of the recent research concerning the topic is reviewed. In addition to including relevant details from older literature, this review provides a synopsis of recent studies which have appeared since the last major review carried out by Lee and Quirke in 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illuminated manuscripts are complex multi-layered and multi-material objects which include a support, preparatory layer, pigment layers, and often highlights. During research into a collection of medieval miniatures (Marcadé collection, Treasury of the Saint-Andre Cathedral in Bordeaux, France) dating from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, two Italian illuminations were studied using hyperspectral imaging. This technique associates reflectance spectra with each pixel of the image. The characteristics of the spectral signal in the visible range are used to map pigments comparing reflectance spectra obtain with those of our reference library of medieval pigments. The exploitation of the data cube of the hyperspectral imaging was completed by point analyses such as Raman and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy commonly used for the identification of pigments. A methodological development as well as preliminary tests on models made according to medieval recipes and materials (parchments, pigments, and binders, alone and combined together), allowed the validation of the analytical parameters and the development of a database of reference spectra. In the two Italian miniatures, the palette was identified and corresponds to typical medieval pigments as lapis lazuli, red lead, lead white, green copper-based pigment, and probably anthraquinone-based pigments such as brazilwood and kermes. Gold foil gilding decorates the corners of the images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation for light exposure on pigments in low-oxygen environments (in the range 0-5% oxygen) was conducted using a purpose-built automated microfadometer for a large sample set including multiple samples of traditional watercolour pigments from nineteenth-century and twentieth-century sources, selected for concerns over their stability in anoxia. The pigments were prepared for usage in watercolour painting: ground and mixed in gum Arabic and applied to historically accurate gelatine glue-sized cotton and linen-based papers. Anoxia benefited many colorants and no colorant fared worse in anoxia than in air, with the exception of Prussian blue and Prussian green (which contains Prussian blue). A Prussian blue sampled from the studio materials of J.M.W. Turner (1775 − 1851) was microfaded in different environments (normal air (20.9% oxygen) 0, 1, 2, 3.5, or 5% oxygen in nitrogen) and the subsequent dark behaviour was measured. The behaviour of the sample (in normal air, anoxia, and 5% oxygen in nitrogen) proved to be consistent with the 55 separately sourced Prussian blue samples. When exposed to light in 5% oxygen in nitrogen, Prussian blue demonstrated the same light stability as in air (at approximately 21°C and 1 atmosphere). Storage in 5% oxygen is proposed for 'anoxic' display of paper-based artworks that might contain Prussian blue, to protect this material while reducing light-induced damage to other components of a watercolour, including organic colorants and the paper support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the nineteenth century, imported wallpapers covered interior walls of Persian palaces and mansions, of which Vasiq-Ansari House in Isfahan, Iran, exhibits very highly elaborated examples. In this study, micro-Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and light microscopy were used to identify pigments and other materials used in the wallpapers of Vasiq-Ansari House. Results indicated that chrome yellow, artificial ultramarine blue, brass metallic leaf, an organic red dyestuff (probably cochineal), and a copper-based green were used as colourants in the wallpapers. Different shades of brown were achieved by mixing various combinations of red lead, carbon black, and calcium carbonate. The white calcium carbonate was also used as a ground layer, applied to a paper support composed of bast and softwood fibres. Based on knowledge of the materials used, these wallpapers are most probably manufactured from the mid- to late-nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the analysis of paint samples from carvings belonging to Hinemihi, the Maori meeting house, Clandon Park, Surrey, UK. The assessment of physical evidence contained within Hinemihi's built fabric (along with historiographic research of archival sources and oral histories) has formed a key part of the information gathering process during the current conservation project. The production of such data provides an opportunity for a dialogue that is essential for effective decision-making within participatory conservation projects. From this, it is evident that the use of paint analysis, in deciding the eventual painted scheme for a restored Hinemihi, is settled within a broader dialogue about the conception, use, and management of Hinemihi as a Maori cultural centre, as built heritage, and as an object of conservation. Therefore, the value of material analysis is considered in relation to the potential that this information has to engage a community of users in designing an effective conservation response that seeks to balance the opportunities and constraints of the cultural and physical landscapes that surround Hinemihi and Clandon Park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiography in transmission mode is a well-established technique to visualize the internal structure of paintings. However, for many paintings the pictorial layer cannot be clearly visualized with conventional radiography because of interference from paint on the reverse, the material composition or the regular structure of supports or subsurface layers. Traditional lead white grounds in particular cause specific imaging problems not encountered with more modern white pigments such as zinc and titanium whites. A solution to this problem is radiography in emission mode. This study demonstrates and articulates those factors that can interfere with visualization of a painting's pictorial layer using transmission radiography as well as those that contribute to the effectiveness of emission radiography in visualizing such information. While emission radiography has been applied to the examination of paintings for over half a century, it is a cumbersome technique that is further complicated by the need to work under dim safelight illumination when X-radiographic film is used. Therefore, the use of computed radiography using storage phosphor imaging plates for emission radiography was also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on recent pigment analyses of many dated caves and murals, as well as investigation of historical records and inscriptions in China, it is proposed that the most popular green pigment for wall painting and architecture might be copper trihydroxychlorides from North Dynasty (386-581 CE) until late Qing Dynasty (1840-1911 CE), rather than malachite. Furthermore, the synthetic technology of making bronze corrosion artificially probably began to dominate the green pigment supply in Five Dynasties (907-960 CE) or Song Dynasty (966-1279 CE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soundboards of seventeenth-century Flemish and French harpsichords, spinets, and virginals are frequently decorated with painted floral, animal, and ornamental motifs. Such decoration is very specific to this part of the instrument, and there are still many open questions regarding its aesthetics, as well as its technique and conservation. The few studies on the painting techniques and materials that exist to date have dealt with Flemish or with late eighteenth-century French instruments. Technical examination, using exclusively in situ techniques, was conducted on the soundboard paintings of the important corpus of seventeenth-century instruments in the collection of the Musée de la musique in Paris and showed regional specificities. Pigments were characterized using X-ray fluorescence, which in particular allowed qualitative discrimination between smalt pigments of different compositions. The state of conservation of the paintings could also be better understood, considering the mechanical deformations, stresses, and vibrations undergone by this specific painting support, a harpsichord soundboard. Future conservation protocols will thus require a delicate balance in order to preserve the double nature of such artefacts: musical instruments and works of art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A close reading of the recipe collection of Johannes Alcherius reveals the concerns of manuscript illuminators during the era of what is now known as the 'International Style'. Collected during extended residences in Paris as well as in northern Italy, the recipes can be grouped according to four areas of interest: organic colourants, metallic effects, copper corrosion product green pigments, and the preparation of ultramarine blue. The recipes in Alcherius's collection are compared with contemporaneous manuscript illuminations. Preliminary non-destructive pigment analysis (using X-ray fluorescence and UV-visible spectrophotometry) on illuminated manuscripts from the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum appears to confirm the direct relationship between technical treatise and the book illuminator's palette. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of seventeenth-century distemper wall paintings, mainly in churches, has in the past been partly attributed to one artist. The project described aims, first, at a better understanding of these paintings in order to improve their conservation treatment, and second, to use the knowledge acquired as a basis for tentative attributions to a particular artist. An understanding of these paintings is augmented by visual comparison of the decorative elements in the paintings and technical analysis of pigments and media. Information on the painter's materials and, more importantly, how they were applied, is recorded from surface observations. Reference is made to the contemporary literature on techniques and to relevant archival records. The conditions of the seventeenth-century 'church painter' are discussed briefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a correction to the article "Copper trihydroxychlorides as pigments in China," by Yong Lei, which appeared in the volume 57, number 2 issue of the journal.

The article examines how Raman microspectroscopy can be used to differentiate between organic dyes and therefore identify dyes used as pigments in works of art. Noting that Raman offers a nondestructive method of analysis, the author describe how it was used to examine two sets of yellow dye-based pigments in an effort to distinguish between natural and synthetic dyes.

The article explores how electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy can be used in the provenance determination of pigments used in paintings. Details are provided on an analysis of the pigments indigo and ultramarine, first synthesized in the late 19th-century, which was used to distinguish between synthetic and plant-based indigo.