Papers by Roberta Iannaccone
7 th International Round Table on polychromy in ancient sculpture and architecture,, 2018
Peintures et stucs d'époque romaine: études toichographologiques: Actes du 29e colloque de l'AFPMA, Louvres, 18 et 19 novembre 2016, 2018, ISBN 9782356132444, págs. 227-235, 2018
Polychromy of ancient Roman sarcophagy from the Catacombs of Rome
Heritage
This study is concerned with recent analyses of seven marble statues from the imperial cycle of t... more This study is concerned with recent analyses of seven marble statues from the imperial cycle of the Augusteum of Rusellae, in the south of Tuscany, Italy. The sculptures represent the deified couple Augustus and Livia, Livilla, Claudius, an anonymous young girl and a headless cuirassed emperor (maybe Domitian). In addition, a fragment of a leg, from another cuirassed statue, was also considered. All of them are preserved in the city of Grosseto, in the Maremma Archaeology and Art Museum. Still preserved traces of polychromy and gilding were investigated both in situ, using non-invasive portable techniques, and in laboratory, taking two micro-samples. The non-invasive approach was based on multi-band imaging techniques (Vis, UVL and VIL) integrated with analyses (XRF, reflectance spectroscopy). A portable optical microscopy was also used for documenting the analysed areas. Two micro-samples from the gilding decoration of the headless cuirassed statue were also analysed using EDS-SEM....
This work presents some results showing how the integrated use of non-invasive spectroscopic tech... more This work presents some results showing how the integrated use of non-invasive spectroscopic techniques is extremely useful for deepening the knowledge of an artwork. The object under study is the Triptych of San Pietro Martire by Beato Angelico, (152 cm x 172 cm x 10 cm), a panel painting from the San Marco Museum in Florence. The analytical protocol was developed to characterize the materials used by the artist and to clarify some doubts concerning the dating. Fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) was useful to obtain information concerning the composition of the artist's palette, composed of pigments commonly used in15 th century Italian easel painting. Of particular interest, is the presence of green areas obtained by a mixture of azurite and lead and tin yellow. These data suggest that the painting could be dated back to the artist's early period, when Beato Angelico was in contact with Lorenzo Monaco, while in his mature works, green parts were commonly painted w...
Materials, 2022
The Sardinian protohistoric civilisation (Final Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age) has greatly co... more The Sardinian protohistoric civilisation (Final Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age) has greatly contributed to the development of metallurgy in the Mediterranean area by producing a large number of bronze artefacts. Among them, small boat models (so-called “navicelle”) represent one of the most characteristic objects from the Sardinian Protohistoric civilisation. This work is an attempt to classify these boats on the basis of their alloy composition, provenience, and morphology. Due to the impossibility of removing the boats from the museum, alloys were characterised using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and Monte Carlo simulations. Fifteen boats were analyzed. Obtained results were compared to other performed analyses in the last few decades with different techniques and reported in the literature. Analyses allow for characterising both the bulk composition of ternary alloy Cu–Sn–Pb and patina thickness, offering useful information about their conservation status a...
Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 2022
This paper describes a case study of a linen yarn found inside a spiral bronze necklace fragment ... more This paper describes a case study of a linen yarn found inside a spiral bronze necklace fragment during an excavation campaign in la Prisgiona, a Nuragic settlement, near Arzachena, in north-east Sardinia. The site is one of the most interesting settlements of the Nuragic period. Abandoned after a fire, it was no longer inhabited, thus allowing the preservation of the Nuragic stratigraphy. The necklace fragments are part of a votive burial and the yarn is the only known textile material belonging to the Bronze Age period from Sardinia. The uniqueness of the finding, in the rare corpus of prehistoric textile materials, and the small amount of it available do not allow conventional analyses and requires a non-invasive/micro-invasive method. The protocol established to preserve as much as possible the entirety of the object, involving polarize light microscopy, portable ATR-FTIR, SEM-EDS, micro X-ray Computer Tomography and XRD, was successfully used to extend knowledge about the materials and techniques of this civilisation.
A Japanese blade very important feature is related to the very peculiar polishing technique appli... more A Japanese blade very important feature is related to the very peculiar polishing technique applied to the surface, aiming to show the different areas where a differential prevalence of distinct iron-carbon phases is present. The use of several stone fragments, with a progressive decreasing roughness, produce the characterstic polishing of such blades. The final result is a mirror-like surface, all over the blade, apart from the edge and the tip, which present a more opaque aspect. This difference is not due to the roughness of the surface in these two regions, but to the different phases characterizing those parts. Infact, specific different stones are used to enhance the reflectance contrast. If samples are not properly conserved, the quality of the surface quickly deteriorates, showing surface oxidation and the development of rust lines evidencing the beginning of conservation danger. The analysis of the specular reflectance intensity, in some selected parts of a blade, can be us...
This work is a new step in the research about “Monochromes on marbles”, twelve painted marble sla... more This work is a new step in the research about “Monochromes on marbles”, twelve painted marble slabs. Among them, ten are from Pompeii and Herculaneum, and two are probably from Rome. The ten slabs from Pompeii and Herculaneum are now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples and the other two in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. These marble pinakes were set in walls of roman buildings with iron clamps, in altars for domestic cults, or probably in gardens of rich private houses. The scenes represent different subjects spanning from mythological to athletic ones. Their name, Monochromes, was chosen in the 18th century due to the red colour visible on the surface, but actually the slabs show also green, yellow, brown and black colours, still visible to the naked eye. The paper presents the results obtained in an in-situ analytical campaign carried out on the ten slabs of the National Archaeological Museum in Naples by using a set of portable, noninvasive techniqu...
Spectrochimica acta. Part A, Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy, Jan 6, 2015
This paper demonstrates that an educated methodology based on both non-invasive and micro invasiv... more This paper demonstrates that an educated methodology based on both non-invasive and micro invasive techniques in a two-step approach is a powerful tool to characterize the materials and stratigraphies of an Egyptian coffin, which was restored several times. This coffin, belonging to a certain Mesiset, is now located at the Museo Civico Archeologico of Bologna (inventory number MCABo EG 1963). Scholars attributed it to the late 22nd/early 25th dynasty by stylistic comparison. The first step of the diagnostic approach applied imaging techniques on the whole surface in order to select measurements spots and to unveil both original and restored areas. Images and close microscopic examination of the polychrome surface allowed selecting representative areas to be investigated insitu by portable spectroscopic techniques: X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Fiber Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). After the analysis of the results coming from the...
Heritage, 2019
The National Museum of Rome has an important collection of Mithraic sculptures found in the years... more The National Museum of Rome has an important collection of Mithraic sculptures found in the years 1973–1975 during the archaeological excavation under the early Christian basilica of Santo Stefano Rotondo on the Caelian hill in Rome. The sculptures excavated from this Mithraeum show many traces of gilding and polychromy, whose best example is the great bas-relief with Mithras slaying the bull discussed in this work. The analysis was conducted during a scientific campaign in the museum with portable instrumentation of the Institute for Conservation and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage, ICVBC mobile laboratory following a completely non-invasive approach. By means of a protocol based on the use of multispectral imaging, microscopy, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), this study allowed to better understand the technique used and to make comparisons with other representations of Mithras slaying the bull.
Heritage
This paper presents a multi-analytical investigation performed for the study of the ecclesiastica... more This paper presents a multi-analytical investigation performed for the study of the ecclesiastical vestment, with insignia, of Pope Pius VII, painted from the end of the 18th up to the beginning of the 19th century, made of five clothing elements: chasuble, stole, maniple, chalice veil and purse. The aim of this research was to assess the conservation state of the silk and painted backgrounds; to define the manufacturing technique of the work; to localize, if present, the underdrawing and any retouching; to identify the pigments and, where possible, the binders used. A diagnostic protocol was developed based on preliminary investigations through multiband imaging techniques known as MBI (visible, ultraviolet-induced visible luminescence (UVL), near-infrared reflected (NIR) and infrared reflected false color (IRRFC) photography). The images acquired with MBI techniques ensured a more specific choice of spots to be analyzed directly in situ by non-invasive techniques. In particular, p...
The first discovery in Sardinia of yarn fibre belonging to the Bronze Age. Non-invasive and micro... more The first discovery in Sardinia of yarn fibre belonging to the Bronze Age. Non-invasive and micro-invasive techniques applied to the study of Nuragic fibres. Archaeobotanical studies were applied to characterize the botanical species. Analytical techniques used to characterize cellulose content and its degradation. Micro-CT and SEM-EDS were applied to characterize the structure of the yarn.
The outdoor sculpture of the first Portuguese king, D. Afonso Henriques (~1109 – 1185 AD), placed... more The outdoor sculpture of the first Portuguese king, D. Afonso Henriques (~1109 – 1185 AD), placed in Guimarães (North Portugal) is one of the most emblematic national sculptures. Created in 1887 by António Soares dos Reis, it possesses a remarkable symbolic value in the presumed birthplace of the king. In addition to the artistic and heritage importance of the monument, it is one of the few sculptures cast by a Portuguese industrial foundry in the 19th-century. This study obtained data on the sculpture's elemental composition and corrosion products, gathering important historical and technical information. For this purpose, a multi-analytical approach consisting of X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) was carried out to characterise the bulk metal and corrosion layers. The data revealed a ternary alloy of Cu, Sn, Zn with Pb, Fe, As, Bi and Mn as minor elements. The alloy matches that of other sculpt...
The outdoor sculpture of the first Portuguese king, D. Afonso Henriques (~1109 – 1185 AD), placed... more The outdoor sculpture of the first Portuguese king, D. Afonso Henriques (~1109 – 1185 AD), placed in Guimarães (North Portugal) is one of the most emblematic national sculptures. Created in 1887 by António Soares dos Reis, it possesses a remarkable symbolic value in the presumed birthplace of the king. In addition to the artistic and heritage importance of the monument, it is one of the few sculptures cast by a Portuguese industrial foundry in the 19th-century. This study obtained data on the sculpture's elemental composition and corrosion products, gathering important historical and technical information. For this purpose, a multi-analytical approach consisting of X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) was carried out to characterise the bulk metal and corrosion layers. The data revealed a ternary alloy of Cu, Sn, Zn with Pb, Fe, As, Bi and Mn as minor elements. The alloy matches that of other sculpt...
Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy
Journal of Cultural Heritage
n this paper, the methodological approach used for the study of a painting from Pablo Picasso&... more n this paper, the methodological approach used for the study of a painting from Pablo Picasso's cubist period is examined in order to verify its authenticity. In a perspective of a multidisciplinary research and activity, the outcomes obtained made it possible to identify a work of art by the Spanish painter which had always been considered lost. The painting was produced by the artist in 1912 during his second stay in Céret (southern France), and several issues about why all traces of this work of art were lost until it was discovered in Italy in 2013 remain still unresolved. The events related to its collection and the causes that led to the painting's somewhat troubled history from a preservation point of view are unknown, and for this reason its presence in the catalog raisonné by Christian Zervos (edition of 1942) with the title Violon. Céret assumes on importance. The study was based on an integrated protocol that uses both in situ non-invasive and micro-invasive techniques, have demonstrated the compatibility of the constituent materials of the painting with its period of creation–in the year 1912 - confirming the results of expert opinions based on stylistic data and study of documentary sources.
The increasing interest and debate about the extent of the polychromy of ancient artefacts is gen... more The increasing interest and debate about the extent of the polychromy of ancient artefacts is generating more attention to the study of the traces of colour remaining on their surfaces. The small amount of these traces lead to a new approach for their characterization in order to limit sampling and hopefully avoiding it. The application of a protocol based on imaging techniques integrated with data obtained from single-spot techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and fibre-optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) provides high-quality information about the materials. The integrated protocol has been applied in the study of a sarcophagus in San Callisto complex in Rome, and the efficacy of its use is confirmed by the data obtained. The sarcophagus, dating back to fourth-century C.E., is located in Saints Mark, Marcellian and Damasus catacombs. The study was focused on characterization of materials through a multidisciplinary approach with in situ non-invasive techniques (multispectral photography, visible-induced luminescence, XRF and FORS) and microinvasive analytical methods in order to identify the marble's provenance through a consolidate multianalytical approach (X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, isotopic ratios). In situ analyses were conducted in critical environment due to the high humidity (RH = 100 %), low temperature (T = 15°C) and high CO 2 levels, all factors representing a challenge for either the operators or the electronic instrumentations. This work is included in a wider research project aimed to enlighten the use of colours on the sculptures in the roman time and to better define the composition of used raw materials.
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Papers by Roberta Iannaccone
Le indagini scientifiche presentate in questo convegno sono state svolte con l’obbiettivo di ottenere una maggiore comprensione degli oggetti stessi e della loro iconografia, oltre ad una più approfondita conoscenza delle tecniche pittoriche utilizzate all’epoca attraverso lo studio dei materiali di cui sono costituiti. Più dettagliatamente le indagini diagnostiche sono state focalizzate per chiarire alcuni quesiti sollevati inizialmente dagli archeologi e per approfondire la conoscenza sulle tecniche di esecuzione dell’epoca
Per il raggiungimento di tali obiettivi sono state eseguite esclusivamente indagini di tipo non invasivo che potessero fornire le informazioni richieste e non apportare nessun danno alle opere.
Per quanto riguarda le tecniche multispettrali, le tavole sono state analizzate attraverso immagini fotografiche a diverse lunghezze d’onda. Le immagini sono state acquisite in ultravioletto riflesso (UVr), in fluorescenza ultravioletta (UV), nel vicino infrarosso (NIR) e in luminescenza indotta da luce visibile (VIL). Inoltre sono state acquisite, per la documentazione dello stato di conservazione, delle immagini in luce visibile e in luce radente e dei particolari al microscopio ottico portatile. Le tavole sono state anche analizzate con tecniche di elaborazione fotografica quali l’infrarosso falso colore (IRFC) e ultravioletto falso colore (UVFC).
Affiancate a queste tecniche che indagano simultaneamente tutta la superficie sono state effettuate analisi con tecniche puntuali quali la Spettroscopia in riflettanza a fibre ottiche nel range dell’ultravioletto e del visibile (FORS) e la Spettroscopia di fluorescenza X (XRF). Queste tecniche risultano particolarmente utili per la caratterizzazione dei pigmenti presenti.
L’unione dei dati archeologici e archeometrici ha permesso di ottenere nuove informazioni ed approfondire la conoscenza di questi particolari materiali.
These marble pinakes were set in walls of roman buildings with iron clamps. The scenes are of different subjects spanning from mythological to athletic ones. Their name, Monochromes, was chosen during the Bourbonic period due to the red colour visible on the surface, but actually the slabs show also green, yellow, brown and black pigments, still visible to the naked eye.
The paper will present the preliminary results obtained by means of transportable, noninvasive techniques employed for the analysis of the ten slabs in Naples. The employed techniques can be divided in two groups: i) imaging (Ultraviolet reflected photography, Ultraviolet fluorescence photography, Ultraviolet false colour, Near Infrared photography, Infrared false colour, Visible Induced Luminescence) and ii) single spot (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy in UV-VIS); Portable Optical Microscopy was used for documenting the analysed areas. An example is shown in Fig. 13. Crossing the visual results obtained with imaging techniques with data analyses some new information about drawings, pigments and conservation history have been provided, in order to deepen the knowledge of this rare kind of archaeological finds.
In particular, we concentrate on a 17th century paper screen representing some battles during the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto families in 12th century. With the aim of identifying the pigments, and the relative working technique of painting on a large surface of rice paper, we have started a non invasive characterization work using portable Raman Spectroscopy, X-Ray Fluorescence, and Fibre Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy. The use of several complementary methods permitted the identification of the pigments, of the substrate, and of the preparation layer.
Raman measurements have been performed with a portable system assembled by Horiba Jobin-Yvon (Villeneuve d‘Ascq, France). The system is composed by a microHR spectrometer with a spectral resolution of 5 cm-1, a CCD Synapse detector, a ModularHead analytical probe containing a video camera for visualisation of samples, a notch filter for elimination of Rayleigh radiation, and a microscope objective (10x, 20x, 50x or 80x). The system is complemented by a tripod, supporting the analytical probe, equipped with an XYZ stage with micrometric movements to allow accurate focusing and two different laser sources: a Nd-YAG 532 nm and a helium-neon 632 nm lasers. A system of optical fibres is used to convoy the laser radiation onto the sample and to transfer the Raman radiation to the spectrometer. A laptop computer, equipped with dedicated software LabSpec 5 running under Windows completes the whole system.
XRF measurements have been performed with a portable Thermo NITON XL3T GOLDD. The GOLDD (Geometrically Optimized Large Drift Detector) technology exploits an SDD (Silicon Drift Detector) with a larger surface, as compared to traditional models, and a geometry where the detector can be placed in close contact to the sample, thus reducing the acquisition time and the detection limit. In particular, the actual detector is a LDD (Large Drift Detector) with a 25 mm2 active surface, 500 m thickness, and 135 eV energy resolution.. The instrument, equipped with an Ag target, can operate with a voltage ranging between 6 and 50 kV, a maximum current of 100 A, and a working distance 2 mm. Every acquisition is made after several sequential individual measurements, using four different voltages and three different filters, in order to optimize the signal of the sample in all the range of the energy spectrum. The configuration used for the present measurements are: main Al/Fe (40 kV); low Cu, 20 kV; High Mo (50 kV); light no filter (6 kV). The spectra have been analysed by using the WinAxil software.
UV-Vis-NIR FORS spectra in the 350-2200 nm range were performed by using the single beam Zeiss MCS601 (200-1000 nm range) and MCS611 NIR 2.2WR (900-2200 nm range) spectroanalysers. These two devices are hosted in a single and transportable chassis ideal for in-situ analysis. The data acquisition range is 0.8 nm/pixel for 1024-elements silicon photodiode array detector (MCS601) and approximately of 6.0 nm/pixel for the 256-elements InGaAs diode array detector (MCS611 NIR 2.2WR). The radiation between 320-2700 nm, provided by a tungsten-halogen lamp (module Model CLH500), is carried to the sample by bundle of optical quartz fibres which also transport the reflected radiation into the detectors (8°/8° geometry). The reflectance spectra were recorded on an area less than 1 mm in diameter. As a reference, a 99% Spectralon® diffuse reflectance standard is used. For some spectra, a discontinuity, such as a sharp increase/decrease in reflectance, can be observed at about 980 nm. This happens when the measurement transitions between the two detectors. The acquisition time for each measurement is fractions of second.About 20 different points have been selected on the sample in order to analyse them with the three techniques. It is interesting to observe, incidentally, that the different characters appearing in the scenes have been painted using different pigments, in order to evidence the most important ones in a way that is immediately visible to the observer‘s eye. The present multi-methodological approach has been of great help in identifying the artist‘s materials. The identification of the pigments in white, yellow, and brown areas was possible by looking at the FORS and XRF data. The composition of the preparation layer has been identified thanks to XRF. All other pigments have been identified thanks to Raman measurements and, when applicable, confirmed by the other techniques. The pigments have been identified as pertaining to the ones traditionally used for 17th century Japanese paintings [Winter 2008].
More Info: ISBN: 978-88-8347-997-7
Publication Date: 2018
Publication Name: S. BRACCI, G. GIACHI, P. LIVERANI, P. PALLECCHI, F. PAOLUCCI (a cura di), Polychromy in Ancient Sculpture and Architecture, Livorno 2018, pp. 43-50