Multi-analytical non-destructive investigation of pictorial apparatuses of “Villa della Piscina” in Rome

Sbroscia, Marco; Guidi, M. Cestelli; Colao, F.; Falzone, Stella; Gioia, Claudia; Gioia, Patrizia; Marconi, Claudia; Gattia, Daniele Mirabile; Loreti, Ersilia Maria; Marinelli, M.; Missori, Mauro; Persia, Franca; Pronti, Lucilla; Romani, Martina; Sodo, Armida; Verona-Rinati, G.; Ricci, Maria Antonietta; Fantoni, R.

doi:10.1016/j.microc.2019.104450

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…It must be said that it was not the only case where aragonite has been detected by FTIR, otherwise its presence was quite ubiquitous in particular in pink sample, even not so evident as in just mentioned sample 2. It is also to remark that in all cases aragonite has been detected in association with calcite (Sbroscia et al 2020;Amadori et al 2015;Toschi et al 2016).…”

Section: Red and Light Redmentioning

confidence: 73%

The Combined Use of SEM-EDX, Raman, ATR-FTIR and Visible Reflectance Techniques for the Characterisation of Roman Wall Painting Fragments From Monte D’Oro Area (Rome): An Insight onto Red, Yellow and Pink Shades.

Guglielmi

Andreoli

Comite

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The aim of this work has been the identification of the painter’s materials employed in the wall’s decoration of some destroyed building dating approximately between the first century B.C. and the first century A.D. This research originates from a previously started joined archaeological and analytical investigation concerning a really varied group of findings that resulted from an excavation performed by Soprintendenza Archeologica in the area of Monte d'Oro in Rome. The focus of this study progression has been directed to a numerous selection of monochrome red, pink, and yellow pigmented fragments. The analyses were performed by means of scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) combined to Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies; visible reflectance measurements have also been carried out in order to evaluate its appliance in such a kind of archaeological studies. Most attention has been given to the assessment of the performances of non-destructive techniques, precisely the ones achieved by portable Raman and visible reflectance instrumentation, above all to test their diagnostic capabilities. In addition to the expected and well-known pigments such as cinnabar, red ochre, hematite for the reds and yellow ochre for the yellows, the study highlighted a diffuse use of mixed colours and/or overlapped painted layers and confirmed in some cases the presence of gildings. Among the mixtures of pigments, the most singular outcome concerns the pink fragment revealing the possible application of bone white, which, based on of the known literature, seems to be rather uncommon as pigment in Roman wall decorations.

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Section: Red and Light Redmentioning

confidence: 73%

The Combined Use of SEM-EDX, Raman, ATR-FTIR and Visible Reflectance Techniques for the Characterisation of Roman Wall Painting Fragments From Monte D’Oro Area (Rome): An Insight onto Red, Yellow and Pink Shades.

Guglielmi

Andreoli

Comite

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…There are quartz peaks at 469 cm −1 (Si-O asymmetric bending), 521 cm −1 (Si-O asymmetric bending), 695 and 793 cm −1 (Si-O symmetric stretching), 810 cm −1 (Si-O bending), 1158 cm −1 (Si-O asymmetric stretching), 1873 and 1990 cm −1 [30,31]. Kaolinite, found in the clay-based support, is particularly evident from peaks at 3697 and 3623 cm −1 (O-H group vibrations) and 911 cm −1 (Si-O stretching) [12,15]. The presence of gypsum at the surface was not detected either from ATR or XRD, but can be inferred from peaks at 2136 and 2236 cm −1 (overtone and combination bands) [15,30].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The analyses were carried out with optical microscopy on thin sections, X-ray diffraction on powders and on fragments specifically treated for clay analysis, scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy-dispersive spectrometer and infrared spectroscopy. Infrared measurements were also made in external reflection mode (FTIR-ER), typically used for non-invasive characterisation of painted surfaces, but rarely for wall paintings [9,11,12,[15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Section: The Archaeological Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Heritage 2021, 4 890 the extensive literature, even in recent years, describing analyses conducted on Roman wall paintings [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], to the best of our knowledge nothing similar has ever been characterised before. Using microscopic and chemical investigations, we focused on these particular fragments in order to characterise a Roman building technique never described so far in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Roman Wall Paintings: Characterisation of Plaster Coats Made of Clay Mud

et al. 2021

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This paper reports on the mineralogical characterisation of samples of wall paintings from various Roman sites in Lombardy (Italy), revealing recurrent types of stratigraphy. One of the stratigraphic samples analysed was found to be a particular kind of plaster: a three-coat work featuring two coats made of clay mud, found in the site of Santa Maria alla Porta (area of the Imperial Palace of Milan—first century CE). The fragments were analysed using optical microscopy on thin sections, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive spectrometer and infrared spectroscopy, also in non-invasive external reflection mode (7500–375 cm−1). The most interesting feature found was the finish coat made of clay mud (illite, chlorite, kaolinite and fine quartz) with a few coarse clasts and linear cavities. This clay coat was the first example ever detected in Roman Lombardy and was used in combination with a thin painted coat made of clay mud with coarse clasts together with a blue pigment (Egyptian blue) and a render coat made of lime associated with lithic clasts (sand). Our findings brought to light a particular construction technique, since in the historical sources clay is only recommended for daubing on reeds and as a render coat.

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“…This is not the first time that it is highlighted how Raman spectroscopy is highly sensitive to small amounts of oxides included in a matrix, completely missing the main phase, thus leading to misleading attributions. Examples are represented by recent investigation of Roman frescoes [ 36 ] or clay‐based pigments, such as kaolinite or ochres, particularly red ones. [ 37,38 ] In these cases, while techniques sensitive to silicates as the X‐ray diffraction can easily identify the main phase, Raman spectra could only reveal the Ti impurities thus suggesting an incorrect identification of the material composition.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectroscopic investigation of Cappadocia proto‐Byzantine paintings

Sbroscia

Pelosi

Agresti

et al. 2020

J Raman Spectroscopy

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The present contribution focuses the attention on the mural paintings of two among the oldest Cappadocia churches, belonging to the group of “proto‐Byzantine paintings.” These materials have never been extensively investigated before and represent a starting point of paramount importance to understand the evolution of both materials and techniques during the ages in this extraordinary region of central Turkey. Specifically, among the several investigated churches and after the synergic work of art historians, conservators, and scientists, we selected the church of St. John the Baptist at Çavuşin, whose architectural structure is dated back to fifth–sixth century, and Church nr. 5 (Süslü church, sixth–ninth century) in Güllü Dere. A limited but exhaustive number of samples was carefully selected and then collected during the on‐site campaign in Cappadocia. Samples were investigated with a multianalytical approach by using cross‐section examination, X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), Fourier‐transform infrared (FT‐IR), and micro‐Raman spectroscopy to characterize materials, execution technique, and conservation state. The wall paintings in the church of St. John the Baptist are characterized by the presence of superimposed or adjacent layers ascribable to different historical periods, as it occurs in many of the Cappadocia churches. Their discrimination has been based on the mortar/ground layer. Pigments have been successfully identified and are mainly based on iron earths and ochres; the presence of gypsum and anhydrite, oxalates, and organic materials have been highlighted on the surface, thus suggesting alteration processes. The church nr. 5 at Güllü Dere shows a unique pictorial phase. Pigments are applied on a gypsum based ground layer and exhibit alteration patterns being made of lead based compounds, such as lead oxides and carbonates. A peculiarity of this church is the presence of anatase, detected in correspondence of red and yellow areas of the samples.

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Multi-analytical non-destructive investigation of pictorial apparatuses of “Villa della Piscina” in Rome

Cited by 23 publications

References 46 publications

The Combined Use of SEM-EDX, Raman, ATR-FTIR and Visible Reflectance Techniques for the Characterisation of Roman Wall Painting Fragments From Monte D’Oro Area (Rome): An Insight onto Red, Yellow and Pink Shades.

The Combined Use of SEM-EDX, Raman, ATR-FTIR and Visible Reflectance Techniques for the Characterisation of Roman Wall Painting Fragments From Monte D’Oro Area (Rome): An Insight onto Red, Yellow and Pink Shades.

Roman Wall Paintings: Characterisation of Plaster Coats Made of Clay Mud

Spectroscopic investigation of Cappadocia proto‐Byzantine paintings

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