Art and heritage

The mission for conservators and art historians has always been the sympathetic restoration of works of art and artefacts of historical interest. In the past, this has not always been possible, leading to the damage of countless irreplaceable items by inappropriate restoration work. By allowing conservators to understand the original materials (paints, pigments, lacquers etc) in addition to any degradation processes, Raman spectroscopy facilitates more sympathetic restoration. Crucially, Raman analysis is non destructive, and the use of remote fibre probes allows analysis to be performed on virtually any sample in-situ. Renishaw's expertise in this area was recognised in 2002 when the Sindonic Conservation Committee in agreement with Cardinal Poletto of the Turin diocese, selected their Raman instrumentation to provide analysis of the Holy shroud (also referred to as the 'Turin' shroud).

The image above shows one of Renishaw's fibre probes being used to identify gemstones in a 11th century artefact in Genova, Italy, known as the 'Croce Degli Zaccaria'. For other art and heritage examples, including data on the authenticity of the Vinland map, please download the relevant document.

Art and heritage applications 

	SCA oxidation application note - cultural heritage SEM-SCA analysis helps in the preservation of a corroding bronze statue of the Roman god Ares from the ancient city of Zeugma in Turkey.	[354KB]
	America - discovered by the Vikings? Since its unveiling in 1965, the Vinland Map has been the centre of controversy as it challenges the theory that Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot on American soil. Using Renishaw Raman spectroscopy to perform non-destructive testing, Katherine Brown of University College London has uncovered evidence that the map is, in fact, a very clever forgery.	[288KB]
	The art of Raman One page document illustrating how Raman spectroscopy can be used to identify pigments and investigate the authenticity of works of art.	[657KB]

Selected publications

Raman microscopy as a structural and analytical tool in the fields of art and archaeology, Robin J H Clark (2007), Journal of Molecular Structure, 834-836, 74-80

Raman fibre optic approach to artwork dating (2004), K Castro et al, Spectrochimica Acta, 60, 2919-2924