Evidence for the Use of Egyptian Blue in an 11th Century Mural Altarpiece by Sem–eds, Ftir and Sr XRD (Church of Sant Pere, Terrassa, Spain)

Abstract

The present study shows the analysis performed on pigment samples taken from Sant Pere (Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain), a remarkable church built in the Romanesque style. On the basis of the results obtained from the analysis, an interesting discussion arises after finding evidence of Egyptian blue in one of the samples, a discovery that was not expected due to the time period of the samples. The pigments were identified by the combined use of FTIR and SEM with an EDS facility. For the blue pigment, since the EDS and FTIR analyses suggested the possible presence of cuprorivaite, micro-XRD experiments using synchrotron radiation were run.a rcm_481 308..319 During the process of restoration of an altarpiece in the church of Sant Pere (Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain), several analytical studies were carried out in order to determine the materials with which the altarpiece was painted, as well as their state of conservation and the painting techniques used. The aim of this paper is to show the presence of an unexpected blue pigment (Egyptian blue) in an altarpiece painted in a period in which the use of such pigment was lost. Thus, it is important to underline this occurrence in some areas of the painted surface in a period of time when this material was not used at all in any of the contemporary sites.The stone altarpiece is one of the few stone pre-Romanesque altarpieces remaining in Catalonia and it was found in its original place in 1856. Thus, the study of the technique used by the painters in such a unique piece was of particular interest. Moreover, the modifications and ancient restorations made on the altarpiece, which took place mainly from the 10th to the 14th centuries, during the construction and modification of the church, could help us to understand the kind of interventions made on that kind of work of art.Finally, the experimental data are also to be taken into account while restoring the paints, in order to avoid degradation due to incompatibilities between restoration products and original pigments and to assure the most accurate process.

Preparation, characterization, and application of a lipophilic coated exfoliated Egyptian blue for near-infrared luminescent latent fingermark detection

“…Figure 5 illustrates spectra of CTAB coated and uncoated exfoliated pigments as well as pure CTAB powder. Peaks between 420 and 1230 cm -1 have been reported in several studies for Egyptian blue powder [32][33][34][35]. These peaks can be assigned to symmetrical and antisymmetrical Si-O-Si stretching as well as O-Si-O bending [32].…”

Unveiling the chromatic palette used for mural paintings in a recently discovered Ptolemaic‐era tomb (Sohag, Upper Egypt): A multitechnique surface investigation

“…As shown in the Raman spectrum of the black pigment, an indication for the υ(CO) peptidic bonds of amide I in the yellow yolk was found through the bands at 1640 and 1663 cm −1. 41 Further, the bands at 1441 and 1747 cm −1 are most probably due to the CO bond of aromatic esters 42 . For this, egg tempera most probably was the preferable technique used in the studied tomb.…”

“…40 In the FT-IR spectra of the analysed samples, only signals of asymmet- Further, the bands at 1441 and 1747 cm −1 are most probably due to the C O bond of aromatic esters. 42 For this, egg tempera most probably was the preferable technique used in the studied tomb.…”

Studies into Exfoliation and Coating of Egyptian Blue for Application to the Detection of Latent Fingermarks

“…in several studies for EB powder, [13][14][15][16] which can be assigned to symmetrical and asymmetrical Si-O-Si stretching. In FIR spectra (Figure 11), peaks at 520 cm -1 and 479 cm -1 can be assigned to Cu-O stretching.…”