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Technical and diagnostic investigation on some metallic objects coming from the Isiao Excavations at the site of Barikot (Swat, Pakistan)
Get PDFThe authors introduce new studies on the metallurgic activity carried out in the archaeological site of Barikot (Swat, Pakistan). The collaboration between the IsIAO Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan and the Diagnostic Laboratory of the Department of Storie e Metodi per la Conservazione dei Beni Culturali of the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna allowed the achievement of new useful data that are quite interesting even if the research is still at the beginning and needs further checks. In particular some samples show traces of niobium. This element is fairly rare but, in some cases, is present into the crystal net of cassiterite. In the samples, the traces of niobium are always correlated with the presence of tin in the alloy. If these data will be confirmed, it’s going to be possible to hypothesise that tin minerals used for the alloy of the object found at Barikot may come from mining sites characterized by the presence of niobium
The polychrome works “Prayer of Tobias and Sarah” and “The Archangel Raphael reveals himself to Tobi and his son Tobias”, inside the Cathedral of Cosenza: diagnostic investigations and considerations on the conditions of conservation
Get PDFThe oil paintings and “Prayer of Tobias and Sarah” and “The Archangel Raphael reveals himself to
Tobi and his son Tobias”, executed by Francesco Bruno at the end of the XVIII century on oval
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shaped canvas, were investigated by integrated physica-chemical and analytical methodologies in
order to obtain scientific data capable of elucidating the state of conservation and the painting technique.
Optical (OM) and electronic (SEM-EDS) microscopy, micro-FT-IR spectroscopy, were applied on
some microfragments whilst the two whole paintings were analyzed by the non invasive IR reflectografy
technique.
The reflectography evidenced some pentimenti of author on the canvas “Prayer of Tobias and
Sarah”, while invasive analysis made it possible to locate the stratigraphic sequence of each canvas
and to characterise the constituent materials
A new technology with potential interest for conservation of cultural heritage: vaporized hydrogen peroxide sterilisation (VHPS)
Get PDFThe VHPS technology can be considered as a safer and more environmentally friendly method for decontamination of works of art, and environments, colonized by microorganisms (fungi, bacteria). The application of this technology allowed that: • the procedure has to be performed on site; • the procedure has to be repeated in several runs; • the procedure has to perform microbial biocide and sporocide; • the human toxicity has to be controllable (safe working environment); • the gaseous mixture has to avoid creating a cumulative chemical toxic burden; • the validation and reproducibility of the decontamination process. In the present work we put together the information coming from the application of sterilization procedure from different field such as medicine, pharmacology, nanotechnology, in order to develop new applicative protocols, particularly for cultural heritage field
A restoration and conservation project of the “Saint Dominic” Monastery in Soriano Calabro, Italy
Get PDFThe article is extracted from the Master Thesis about Restoration of the Monuments at “La
Sapienza”, University of the Studies of Rome. The Monastery was one of the most important of the
Dominican Order in Europe. The building dates back to year 1510, it broke down almost completely
in the earthquake of year 1659. It was rebuilt following the architect B. Presti’s project. At the present
time the “Saint Domenic” Monastery largely seems a ruin, mainly as a consequence of the cat-
N. Davolos - A restoration and conservation project of the ÒSaint DominicÓ Monastery...
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astrophic earthquake in 1783. However, with the new look that has acquired, it still preserves an
extraordinary charm that continues to astonish.
The project followed the trend of the critical and conservative restoration with the safeguard of the artistic
and figurative data of the “Saint Domenic” Monastery which has been analysed through an accurate
historical-critical work. The idea is to preserve and transmit to the future generations the “Saint Domenic”
monument in his authenticity, in its formal and material consistence, with the marks of the passing of
time. The abstracts reports only the most important aspects which are representative of the project.
Besides the historical analysis, laboratory examination have been executed on the material used in the
construction of the ancient facade through the observation of thin sections by optic microscope and with
the realization of spectrum of X-ray diffraction, in order to know the nature and composition, the state
of preservation and the kinds of deterioration to support an appropriate intervention of restoration
Sicily in D.H. Lawrence’s Imagery
Get PDFD.H. Lawrence, who spent two years in Sicily, precisely in Fontana Vecchia, near Taormina and
Aetna (where the God Vulcan used to live), has always been fascinated by Italy and Sicily in particular,
the places where, in his opinion, most myths are rooted. His fascination for Sicily is due both to
the sculpture of The Seated Demeter or Core, that he saw in the archaeological Museum in
Syracuse, and to the Sicilians, described “as handsome as Adonis”, and who seem to manifest and
share the sexual energy usually connected to Pan and Dionysus. The image of Sicily recurs in D.H.
Lawrence’s entire production, often indirectly suggested by images such as: the volcanoes, the mythical Sicilian monsters “Scylla and Charybdis”, and the references to the Myth of Pluto and
Persephone, which took place in Enna, as told in his poem "Purple Anemones" (in Birds, Beasts and
Flowers). Moreover, his novella Sun deals with the flourishing Mediterranean landscape of Sicily,
with Aetna in the distance, and the memory of the Sicules, the archaic inhabitants of the island. It is
also worth mentioning that D.H. Lawrence translated several works by the Sicilian Giovanni Verga:
from Mastro-Don Gesualdo (1923) to Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Stories (1928)
Colorimetry applied to the field of cultural heritage: examples of study cases
Get PDFFor a few years now, the Dipartimento di Storie e Metodi per la Conservazione dei Beni Culturali of the Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna (sede di Ravenna) has been creating a Diagnostic Laboratory for the study on the “system: cultural heritage/conservation environment”. In the present paper the results of different surveys concerning the use of colorimetry on different typologies of art works are reported: graphic documents (fig. 1); oil painting on board and canvas (fig. 2); wall painting (fig. 3); stony materials consolidated with ethyl silicate (fig. 4). Measurements of the chromatic parameters, according to the CIE L*a*b* chromaticity diagram and to the UNI 8941 Standard Coloured surfaces, were carried out with the spectrophotometric colorimeter Minolta CM-2600D model. The reference measurements (targets) were carried out on every typology of works. Such targets, recorded on the tool or in the computer, could be considered in order to draw a comparison in time on the same studied surface. It is then possible to check the trend of the chromatic alteration as an effect of interaction of the environment of location-conservation with the art work and, then to determine the causes, i.e the environmental operating-factors. The measurements of the chromatic parameters for graphic documents and for wall paintings have also allowed us to establish if the modifications, caused by an inappropriate environment, must be linked to irreversible or reversible effects and, then, with the possibility of being removed. As regards wall paintings, the respect of the “noble patina” was showed, as established by the Card of Restoration, by means of the measurement of the + b* parameters (yellow degree). The studies on stony materials aimed at the evaluation of the chromatic alterations of the art works previously consolidated with various products based on ethyl silicates: different results were reached according to the different degree of stone cohesion, anisotropy of the material and different exposure conditions of the works. Such researches may contribute to applying colorimetry in the field of cultural heritage
Authenticity and conservation state of art works: the market and auction houses & Presentation of the historical-technical Journal “Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage"
Get PDFThe title Authenticity and conservation state of art works: The market and auction houses mirrors the particular status of confusion and instability in which the auction houses – find themselves – nowadays. It is an international situation of existential and economic crisis in which humanity appears to be excited and schizophrenic. This lecture is part of a series all dedicated to various aspects of art, with a particular focus on the great Italian artist Giorgio Morandi. A good selection of his works is currently displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Giorgio Morandi conceived art as a “practice of silence”, where his “still life” functioned as a filter to observe the world outside his small cloistered art studio. By emphasizing the importance of weight and gravity with grace and attention, this artist can therefore teach us how important it is to judge a piece of art not only subjectively – giving greatest relevance to the satisfaction of individual aesthetical standards – but also objectively – where the techniques and the materials utilized assume the greatest significance. This allows the estimator to estimate correctly their economic and financial value. The second part of the lecture consists in the presentation of the historical-technical journal Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage. It represents an emblematic gathering of experts, symbolizing therefore a necessary encounter among people with different cultural backgrounds, experiences and skills. They meet to address and discuss issues related to their common field of study, the Cultural Heritage sector. This jolts, as it can be imagined, American art critics. They often lack social criticism showing them to be too focused on aesthetics and elegance of form. The consequent question arises: is this really true
Some considerations on conservation and restoration in contemporary art
Get PDFA number of aspects and problems are discussed which refer to conservation and restoration in contemporary art. The need to classify contemporary art objects not chronologically but materially is Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage 196 obvious, which as well as using traditional techniques utilize new materials made available by industrial research. Thus the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the problem, not only involving the experts, who have the historical-artistic and technical expertise, but the authors of the works in question too (and the manufacturers of the constituent materials of the said works), in order to be able to have a complete informative view of the corresponding characteristics and properties
Inorganic treatments for the consolidation and protection of stone artefacts
Get PDFConsolidation and protection are two of the principal kinds of treatments through which the decay of old statues, stone facades, plasters and mural paintings caused by both natural atmospheric agents and, above all in the last five decades, by atmospheric pollution, is faced.
The most traditional approach has been and is mainly based on the use of organic polymeric materials.
They offer the advantage of easy application procedures and the possibility to obtain, at short times, very satisfying results. Different is their behaviour at long times. Some drawbacks come out over time both under the esthetical point of view as well as to the durability, compatibility and efficacy.
Particularly critical is the situation when porous materials and soluble salts - gypsum above all - are simultaneously present. In such a situation inorganic treatments demonstrate to be much more appropriate. They assure durable and compatible results.
In the present paper two of the most efficient and appropriate inorganic methods are reviewed in detail: the barium hydroxide method, both as desulfating and consolidating agent, and the ammonium oxalate method as passivating agent, consolidant and as a treatment capable of improving the natural colour contrast of the stone, when it is lost due to decay processes