PIXE reveals that two Murillo’s masterpieces were painted on Mexican obsidian slabs

The use of SEM-EDS, PIXE and EDXRF for obsidian provenance studies in the Near East: a case study from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia)

“…With regard to the non-destructive capabilities of these facilities, it should be noted that at CENBG only artifacts smaller than 3 cm long and 5 mm thick can be accepted, whereas at C2RMF with the external beam configuration of AGLAE there are no such size restrictions (cf. Calligaro et al, 2005). The source samples analyzed were the same as those previously analyzed by SEM-EDS; as before we focused on the polished sections with the exception of the Nenezi Da g samples that were treated from fresh fractures on aliquots.…”

Particle‐induced X‐ray Emission (Pixe) Analysis of Obsidian From Teotihuacan

“…Some elements, such as rare earth elements, commonly measured with INAA, are not readily provided by PIXE. In contrast, some elements (such as Ti, Y, Ni, Pb) are better determined by PIXE (Calligaro et al. , 2005).…”

“…These techniques have been applied to determine the provenance of obsidian from many different regions of the world, such as the Great Basin in the USA (Hughes 1984), South America (Seelenfreund et al 1996;Bellot-Gurlet et al 1999a,b;Craig et al 2007), or southern Europe and the Middle East (Gratuze 1999;Tykot 2002;Carter et al 2006). Some publications address Mexican obsidian (Mosheim and Althaus 1988;Tenorio et al 1998;Neff et al 2000;Esparza et al 2001;Ponomarenko 2004;Calligaro et al 2005;Carballo et al 2007;Smith et al 2007;Rivero-Torres et al 2008). The most comprehensive compositional database of Mexican obsidians can be found in Cobean (2002), complemented by Cobean et al (1991).…”

Mobile depth profiling and sub-surface imaging techniques for historical paintings—A review

“…1 an easel painting consists typically of a support, ground, paint layers and varnish that are applied on top of another. Canvas and wooden panels are the most popular supports, but also other materials, such as thin copper plates, paper, stone, glass and even obsidian [27] are known. The material of the support has a significant influence on the applicability of transmission methods.…”