Thermal, mineralogical and spectroscopic study of plasters from three post-Byzantine churches from Kastoria (northern Greece)

A Comparative Study of Pigments from the Wall Paintings of Two Greek Byzantine Churches

“…Indeed, there are similarities in the raw materials used for pigments in the Byzantine churches. These findings correspond well with our previous studies in the murals of several Byzantine churches from Kastoria (Iordanidis et al 2011a(Iordanidis et al , 2011b(Iordanidis et al , 2013 and with the study of Sotiropoulou et al (2008) on the pigments used by Onoufrios iconographer in Albania's Byzantine churches. However, the presence of a modern pigment (lithopone) in one sample implies an overpainting or a restoration process and discards the utilization of this specific sample in any possible correlation.…”

“…Moreover, anatase (TiO 2 ) is clearly observed under Raman microscopy in one green pigment (Figure 4a, sample AP7), showing characteristic shifts at 146 (vs), 397, and 643 cm À1 and its presence is probably related to the iron oxides. The latter finding is in accordance with the identification of green pigments from the murals of different Byzantine churches from Kastoria in our previous studies (Iordanidis et al 2011a(Iordanidis et al , 2011b. Green earths have been used as pigments since antiquity and they are mainly constituted of clayey micas celadonite or glauconite.…”

“…Both destructive and nondestructive interdisciplinary analytical techniques are employed for these analyses (Ortega-Aviles et al 2005;Daniilia, Andrikopoulos, et al 2008;Ostrooumov 2009). Although several studies have been published regarding the characterization of Greek Byzantine murals and icons (Daniilia, Minopoulou et al 2008;Sotiropoulou et al 2008;Hein, Karatasios, and Mourelatos 2009), the Byzantine wall paintings from Kastoria have only recently been investigated and mainly through the ongoing archaeometrical research of our team on the Kastoria's Byzantine artefacts (Pavlidou et al 2006;Iordanidis et al 2011aIordanidis et al , 2011bIordanidis et al , 2013.…”

The study of the mural painting in the 12th century monastery of Santa Maria delle Cerrate (Puglia‐Italy): characterization of materials and techniques used

“…In particular, the micro‐Raman spectroscopy, compared to other similar methods of analysis, possesses numerous advantages such as specificity, sensitivity, short analysis time, immunity to interference, high lateral resolution and non‐destructive or micro‐destructive analysis. Some research has been done on the Byzantine wall paintings, especially in Greece: Raman spectroscopy in combination with other analytical techniques have been used to identify colors and painting techniques, products of degradation, and a recent research of 2011 has concerned the study of the plaster and a possible its dating . In Italy, the Byzantine frescoes are found mostly in the rocky churches and crypts of the southern regions (Puglia and Basilicata), and archaeometric studies conducted are few, but the context has been better investigated from the historical and artistic point of view…”

“…Some research has been done on the Byzantine wall paintings, especially in Greece [4,5] : Raman spectroscopy in combination with other analytical techniques have been used to identify colors and painting techniques, [6] products of degradation, [7] and a recent research of 2011 has concerned the study of the plaster and a possible its dating. [8] In Italy, the Byzantine frescoes are found mostly in the rocky churches and crypts of the southern regions (Puglia and Basilicata), and archaeometric studies conducted are few, but the context has been better investigated from the historical and artistic point of view. [9][10][11] According to historians, the oldest pictorial cycle of the church of Santa Maria delle Cerrate could date from the end of 12th century to the beginning of 13th century.…”