Uranium-series age estimates for rock art in southwest China

We report the first uranium-series age estimates for rock art in China. Calcite bracketing a paint layer was used to constrain the age of a naturalistic outline hunter-gatherer painting in the Jinsha River area of northwest Yunnan Province (southwest China). The rock paintings in this region are unique in style and content compared with other bodies of rock art in China, which are dominated by Neolithic subject matter. The minimum and maximum ages were determined using isochron techniques on multiple samples of calcite from above and beneath the paint layer. A large painted deer head was dated to between 5738 and 2050 years. This painting and underlying flowstone are superimposed on older paintings that suggest the older paintings are at least 3400 years old, if not older than 5738 years. The results indicate for the first time that Jinsha River rock art is older than other forms of rock art in the region and show that rock art likely extends back to at least the transition from the Palaeolithic to Neolithic in this part of China.     

西藏拉萨大昭寺转经廊壁画制作工艺研究

古代壁画是一定时期政治、经济、文化、艺术和科技发展水平的物质反映,因此,利用现代科技分析手段提取其信息并将之与古代文献结合,则可逆推其制作工艺和判定其制作时间,进而确定其历史价值、科学价值和艺术价值,为艺术史研究和保护修复提供信息。本工作利用拉曼光谱(Raman)、偏光显微镜(PLM)、扫描电子显微镜与能谱仪(SEM-EDS)、红外光谱(FT-IR)和X射线衍射(XRD)在西藏大昭寺转经廊壁画样品分析中获取的信息,结合文献,确定西藏拉萨大昭寺转经廊壁画绘制于清代晚期至20世纪80年代之间。此幅壁画地仗使用了阿嘎土,与文献记载一致;白粉层使用立德粉、碳酸镁和方解石等,与文献记载用白胶浆或者黄胶浆相异。同时发现壁画颜料采用藏族传统绘画配色方法。     

The painting of the Etruscan “Tomba della Quadriga Infernale” (4th century BC), in Sarteano (Siena, Italy): technical features

This work presents the results of an investigation of the painting technique used in the Etruscan tomb “Tomba della Quadriga Infernale”. This tomb was discovered in Sarteano (Siena, Italy) in October 2003 and dated back to the second half of the 4th century BC. Red, dark red, pink, yellow, white, black, and grey colours were used in the tomb in order to create paintings, which now represent a very precious record of the Etruscan art of wall painting in a hypogeal environment. The technical features of the painting were revealed by stratigraphy using optical and electronic microscopy. The components and preparatory layers of the painted areas were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). XRD, SEM-EDS, and optical microscopic techniques were also used for mineralogical analysis of the rock substrate. The SEM-EDS and FTIR analyses showed that red and yellow ochre, calcite, and vegetable charcoal were used to paint the walls of the tomb: the pigments, either alone or mixed together, were utilized to produce pure colours (red, yellow, white, and black) and intermediate tonalities (pink, dark red, and grey). SEM-EDS, FTIR, and XRD highlighted that the painting was made on a preparatory layer of calcite, applied onto a levelling material made up of calcite, clay minerals, quartz, and iron oxides. GC/MS analyses revealed that egg was used as an organic binder to disperse the pigments.     

Painted plaster from Bronze Age Thebes, Boeotia (Greece): a technological study

From the rather difficult excavations that have taken place in Thebes since the beginning of the last century, many fragmentary but often well-preserved paintings on plaster have been unearthed. These belong to several contexts and periods: House of Kadmos (Late Helladic IIIA), Treasury Room (Late Helladic IIIB1) and Oikopedon Spourli (Late Helladic III). Their iconography, style and technology fit well with other paintings from the Late Bronze Age sites found in the vicinity of Thebes (e.g. Gla and Orchomenos). This paper presents a technological study of the Bronze Age painted plaster from Thebes, Greece. The paintings were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction; stereo, reflected light and scanning electron microscopy; some by laser-induced breakdown spectrometry and by micro-Raman spectroscopy, in order to identify the pigments and the composition of the plaster layers, and to determine the painting technique(s) that the artisans may have employed. The plaster layer onto which the paint layer was applied was often the only layer and consisted mainly of calcite, while a clay plaster formed the backing between the lime plaster coat and the actual wall surface. The pigments identified were: yellow ochre, haematite (red), cuprorivaite (Egyptian blue), indigo and possibly riebeckite for blue, charcoal (black), calcite (white), and a combination of black and red for purple. A detailed macroscopic study of the painted surface revealed several features, which indicated that the technique of al fresco painting was employed extensively, a technique already in use since the start of the Late Minoan I phase on Crete. A generally lower level of quality in the appearance of the later paintings (Treasury Room and Oikopedon Spourli) was also noted, but this was not reflected in the materials used or in their overall manipulation.     

Physico‐Chemical Characterization of Pigments and Binders of Murals in a Church in Ethiopia

Here, we report the physico‐chemical characterization of wall paintings from the Petros and Paulos church in Ethiopia. This work represents the first technical study of paintings located in Ethiopia, rather than paintings in museum collections outside the country, using diverse analytical techniques. In situ examination with a portable X‐ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF) was followed by analysis of samples using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), micro‐Raman spectroscopy (MRS), attenuated total reflection – Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐FT–IR), X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD) and pyrolysis gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (Py‐GC/MS). The paint stratigraphy, the compositions of the support material, the preparatory and painting layers were studied, as well as the morphology of the pigment particles. The results revealed the use of earth pigments and carbon black. The preparatory layer was uncommon; composed of dolomite, clay rich in clinochlore and sand, in contrast to the more common gypsum and calcite. The binder and the stratigraphic analyses suggested a distempera technique.     

新疆和田达玛沟佛寺遗址出土壁画颜料分析

达玛沟佛寺是新疆和田地区重要的佛教遗址,具有极高的佛教及艺术价值,对我国乃至东亚的佛教艺术都有着重要的影响。为研究新疆达玛沟佛寺遗址出土壁画颜料成分及工艺,以壁画文物残块为研究对象,利用体视显微镜、X荧光光谱仪、X射线衍射仪、拉曼光谱仪、偏光显微镜等多种仪器对其进行了分析鉴定。结果表明,达玛沟佛寺所使用的颜料全部为矿物颜料,其中蓝色颜料为青金石,绿色颜料为氯铜矿,白色颜料为石膏,红色颜料为朱砂,褐色颜料为铁红,赭黄色颜料为铁黄。该研究为探索中国西域佛教史、美术工艺史及后期修复保护材料、工艺选择提供科学依据。     

广西宁明花山岩画颜料胶结材料分析研究

花山岩画是研究我国百越民族古代社会历史的重要资料。岩画颜料中胶结材料分析是判断岩画制作工艺、岩画颜料脱落、褪色原因以及岩画病害治理的重要依据。本工作利用三维视频显微镜和材料显微镜、红外光谱仪、激光拉曼光谱仪、气相色谱质谱仪(GC-MS)等,主要分析了花山岩画颜料胶结物成分。结果表明,岩画颜料胶结材料为植物性粘合剂;颜料样品中含有分布均匀的草酸钙,草酸钙的形成与颜料使用植物性粘合剂有关。     

Pigments, dyes, and black enamel—the colorants of reverse paintings on glass

Nondestructive analyses of medieval reverse paintings on glass revealed the same dyes and pigments customarily used in panel paintings. However, there is one exception: the black colorant is not a carbon-based pigment, but black enamel. In this respect, the stylistic as well as the technical influence of stained glass artwork can clearly be seen on reverse paintings on glass. However, there is a crucial difference: in reverse paintings, the black enamel is not fired onto the glass but painted (cold painting). Additional analyses confirmed these findings. Based on these results, the art form “reverse painting on glass” has technically to be characterized as a mixture of “stained glass” and “panel painting” that nonetheless develops into a genre of its own.     

古书画保护修复中的二次脱色现象及预防

中国古书画源远流长,在长期的收藏和传承历史中会出现各种各样的病害,传统书画修复技术因此得到发展。在书画修复中,观察和分析作品的病害情况是制定修复计划的重要前提,但保护修复中发生的脱色现象是后出现的二次病害,在修复计划中易被忽略以致画心被破坏,失去色泽变得暗淡,甚至出现部分内容缺失,对书画伤害极大,故而对修复中的二次脱色现象进行研究并优化相关修复技术是至关重要的。本工作以实践经验为基础,对古书画修复中的二次脱色现象进行全面的阐述和研究,从材料和工艺的角度分析了病害成因,将常见的修复中人为造成的脱色现象进行了分类,提出了修复中二次脱色现象发生的预防判断标准,优化了修复技术,为古书画病害的研究、书画修复技术的优化提供参考。     

Wall Paintings from the Roman Emona (Ljubljana,Slovenia): Characterization of Mortar Layers and Pigments

This study concerns the investigation of mortar layers and pigments of wall paintings from the Roman town of Emona (Ljubljana, Slovenia). Fragments of wall paintings consist of up to three preserved mortar layers. The mineralogical–petrographic compositions of the mortars were determined by means of optical microscopy and FT–IR spectroscopy. The investigated samples were divided into several groups based on similar thicknesses of the mortar layer, the binder colour and the composition of an aggregate. Furthermore, the results of mercury intrusion porosimetry showed that mortar layers consisting of carbonate grains exhibited lower porosity with respect to layers with mainly silicate grains, which is attributed to the angular shapes of carbonate aggregate. This is in accordance with the drilling resistance measurement system test (DRMS), confirming that layers with angular carbonate grains are harder than those with addition of rounded silicate ones, due to the good packing effect. The wall paintings were mainly executed using the fresco technique, while for some details secco was used. The identified pigments were red and yellow ochre, green earth, Egyptian blue, carbon black and lime white; all of them belonged to the so‐called austere pigment, which is quite common in Roman wall paintings.     

广西花山岩画颜料及其褪色病害的防治对策

在自然环境因素的长期作用下,花山岩画颜料褪色脱落。为了治理岩画颜料褪色病害,应用偏光显微镜分析、电子探针面分析、X射线衍射分析、红外吸收光谱分析,系统研究了花山岩画的颜料及其粘合剂成分。结果表明,铁红是花山岩画红色颜料中的基本显色成分,但红色颜料中存在朱砂。颜料粘合剂属植物性的,岩画作成后其中的植物性粘合剂在老化分解过程中分泌出有机酸,其中的草酸与立壁岩石中的钙质发生反应,形成一层水草酸钙。依据现状调查与采访结果,提出了岩画颜料褪色病害及其防治对策。     

New dates from Ushki-1, Kamchatka,confirm 13,000 cal BP age for earliest Paleolithic occupation

For many years cultural layer 7 at the Ushki sites, Kamchatka was considered to represent the earliest human occupation of Beringia, because four radiocarbon dates indicated an age of 16,000–17,000 calendar years ago (cal BP). In 2003, however, Goebel et al. reported that layer 7 more likely formed only 13,000 cal BP, nearly 4000 years later than N.N. Dikov, the site’s primary excavator, originally reported. Some researchers have downplayed the significance of the new dates, continuing to regard Dikov’s early dates as evidence that at least some of the hearth and dwelling features previously excavated at Ushki-1 date to as early as 17,000 cal BP. Here we present four new radiocarbon dates (and two previously unpublished dates) on curated charcoal from hearth features excavated at Ushki-1 more than 20 years ago. They indicate that these hearths and associated dwelling features date to about 13,000 cal BP. We now know 15 radiocarbon dates on charcoal from a variety of features and profiles across Ushki-1 and Ushki-5 that indicate the age of layer 7 is about 13,000 cal BP. We discount the four 16,000–17,000 cal BP dates, first, because two of them came from a deeply dug human burial pit and were likely secondarily introduced into the burial; second, because provenience data for the other two dated samples were never reported and do not exist in the records of the radiocarbon laboratories that produced them; and, third, because sediments immediately underlying layer 7 at Ushki-1 are only a few centuries earlier than 13,000 cal BP, providing an important lower-limiting age for the layer-7 occupation. We conclude that the age of all of the layer-7 features at Ushki-1 and Ushki-5 should be considered to be about 13,000 cal BP, at least until the earlier obtained old dates of 16,000–17,000 cal BP can be replicated.     

天梯山石窟9窟彩塑与壁画地仗矿物 及颜料分析

天梯山石窟,即北凉石窟,在国内史学界誉为中国古代石窟鼻祖。据考证,9窟彩塑与壁画制作始于唐代,后经历代多次重绘。针对目前彩塑与壁画的保存现状及需要修复的状况,本研究运用现代分析仪器与技术,对9窟现存的彩塑、壁画进行了科学分析。其中,对彩塑及壁画地仗土层矿物进行了X射线衍射分析,对重层彩绘颜料进行了X射线衍射、X射线荧光分析;另外,对清理彩塑地仗时发现的植物茎秆及附属物,采用偏光显微分析技术进行了材质鉴定。分析和鉴定结果表明:9窟现存彩塑及壁画地仗土层具有相同的矿物组成,基本包括石英、长石(斜长石、少量的K-长石)、云母(白云母、绿泥石、伊利石、斜绿泥石)、方解石、少量石膏,并确定植物茎秆材质为稻草;在使用的彩绘中,黑色为墨,红色颜料有朱砂、铅丹和铁红,蓝色颜料为石青,白色颜料以方解石为主,有少量的石膏。本结果可为后期天梯山石窟的全面复原修复提供参考资料。     

Identification of Green Pigment Used in Persian Wall Paintings (ad 1501–1736) Using PLM,FT–IR,SEM/EDX and GC–MS Techniques

The technique of oil painting was introduced to Iran via a cultural exchange with Europe in the Safavid period (ad 1501–1736). Since the first attempt at scientific conservation of wall paintings in Iran in the 1960s, the nature of green pigment used in Persian wall paintings has not been clear, although work on contemporary miniature paintings has identified malachite and verdigris. PLM, FT–IR, SEM/EDX, GC–MS and the study of contemporary historical treatises of the Safavid period were the main tools used in the present study to identify the green pigments in Persian (oil‐based) wall paintings. Eight samples taken from the two famous Safavid buildings, Chehel Sotoon Palace and the Sukias House in Isfahan, were analysed. Here, the identification of copper‐based pigment and of verdigris in oil as oleate amends the existing knowledge of the green pigment used in these paintings. It also suggests that oleate was introduced to Persian artists via the European influence on Persian painting as a result of cultural exchange in the Safavid period, when the technique of Persian painting changed from tempera to oil painting. However, as verdigris in oil and resin can appear as oleate over time, it is unknown whether the Persian artists did this deliberately or accidentally.     

Chemical and mineralogical characterization of Aguada Portezuelo pottery from Catamarca,north-western Argentina: PIXE,XRD and SEM-EDS studies applied to surface pre- and post-firing paints,slips and pastes

Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microprobe analysis (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analytical techniques were used to characterize surface paints in pre- and post-fired Aguada Portezuelo decorated pottery. Surface paintings in black, white, red, brown, burgundy and ochre were analysed. Major, minor and trace elements were detected by PIXE, whereas XRD and SEM-EDS gave information on the main mineral phases and the characteristic morphology for each analysed pigment. The results obtained indicate that the main colour groups can be easily discriminated by PIXE, and they are characterized by only one pigment for each colour: hematite (red) and manganese mineral oxides (black), respectively, whereas white pigments are characterized by calcite, ghelenite and gypsum.     

常熟彩衣堂彩画蓝色颜料研究

常熟彩衣堂建筑彩画是江南地区古建筑彩画中的杰出代表,可一直存在彩画的部分色彩与传统图案用色难以对应的问题。为明确彩衣堂彩画蓝色颜料的使用情况,在前期研究工作成果的基础上,对采集的样品采用光学显微镜、激光显微拉曼光谱仪、X射线荧光分析仪等进行了综合分析。结果表明彩衣堂彩画使用了蓝色有机颜料花青和矿物颜料石青,蓝色纹样处一般只有作为底色的花青残留,从而使得显现的颜色与传统图案用色无法匹配。     

The chemistry of tree resins and ancient rock paintings in the Niah Caves,Sarawak (Borneo): some evidence of rain forest management by early human populations

Research concerning the Niah Caves located in Sarawak, Borneo, has demonstrated human occupation of south-east Asia from c. 50,000 years ago until the present. Elaborate paintings, believed to date from the first millennium AD, in which a red colouration predominates, occur in an adjacent cave system. Analysis of the paint revealed it to be comparable with a red resin produced by a native leguminous tree and a resin produced by trees in Australia where caves containing predominantly red paintings are also to be found. Potential cultural/technological linkages between Sarawak and Australia are suggested. Our findings additionally contribute to evidence for the antiquity and complexity of rain forest management in south-east Asia.     

汉代陶俑彩绘颜料表征分析

为了建立汉代彩绘工艺、彩绘颜料等方面的数据库,为跨地域横向对比研究及彩俑的中长期保护和博物馆展出提供科学依据,本研究利用MINLTA CR-300色度仪、X—Rite Spectrodensitometer密度仪、XTL系列显微镜分析方法,对汉代陶俑彩绘6种颜料层61个样品的色度数据和5件陶俑残片颜料密度值的分布范围和表面显微结构信息特征进行了系统的分析测试。在大量色度数据的收集分析基础上,构建球体色度容差评估模型。球体色度容差评估结果表明,黑色样品保存较为完好,橙红色色度腐蚀现象严重,橙红色陶俑样品较其他样品分布均匀。颜料密度分析表明,橙红色陶俑腿残片保存状况相对较好,表面的颜料层较均匀且致密。显微分析发现,5％B72乙醇体系对表面颜料加固中,B72加固剂的分散性好,颜料表面无明显变化,在陶俑彩绘颜料保护过程中,B72-乙醇体系是可以选择的。     

山东青州龙兴寺部分北齐佛造像石材及朱砂颜料分析研究

山东青州龙兴寺窖藏佛教造像出土于1996年,造像雕刻技艺精湛,数量多,贴金彩绘丰富,展现出一种特殊的佛教造像艺术特征。一些佛像由于长期掩埋和历史上遭到破坏,彩绘发生了褪色、变薄、起翘等现象。为了弄清佛造像彩绘颜料和结构,本研究采用三维视频显微镜、显微拉曼光谱分析、扫描电镜-能谱、偏光显微镜等仪器分析颜料的结构和化学组成。分析结果表明,龙兴寺佛造像红色颜料为辰砂(Hg S)与铅白(2PbCO_3Pb(OH)_2)混用;地子主要为铅白,经过对该批出土佛造像残碎的石块做薄片处理做偏光显微分析,得到造像石材的主要矿相为含菱铁矿、生物碎屑、白云石的泥晶灰岩(灰岩即石灰石)。