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A Scientific Approach to Cultural Heritage Preservation: A Case Study of Vandalistic Acts on Important Roman Mosaics
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Abstract
As an example of the way in which a scientific study can help the restorer in the restoration of important artistic works, the authors report the case study of vandalistic acts on important Roman mosaics. On the night of September 29, 1995, some unknown vandals poured dark brown paint over several of the most beautiful and important mosaics of the Villa del Casale (Piazza Armerina, Italy). The villa, consisting of an extensive network of rooms, galleries, courtyards, and baths, contains some of the largest and most beautiful mosaics surviving from Roman times. Chemical investigations were performed in order to draw up a rapid restoration plan aimed at identifying the substances used and proposing a correct restoration procedure. A multitechnique, analytical approach was used for these investigations because of the highly complex heterogeneity of the materials studied. The results showed that toluidine red was present in the paint as pigment and that the vehicle was made up of a mixture of alkyd resins, together with styrenated compounds and unsaturated long chain-containing oils. Moreover, besides compounds like calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, and aluminum oxide, silver-containing compounds were present in the paint. All of these observations allowed the authors to propose the removal method to be adopted that achieved the restoration of the mosaics.
Keywords (Audience):
Second-Year UndergraduateKeywords (Domain):
Inorganic ChemistryKeywords (Subject):
Mass SpectrometryCiting Articles
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This article has been cited by 2 ACS Journal articles (2 most recent appear below).
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Delana A. Nivens, Clifford W. Padgett, Jeffery M. Chase, and Katie J. Verges, Deborah S. JamiesonJournal of Chemical Education2010 87 (10), 1089-1093Case studies and current literature are combined with spectroscopic analysis to provide a unique chemistry experience for art history students and to provide a unique inquiry-based laboratory experiment for analytical chemistry students. The XRF analysis ...
Detecting Past Attempts To Restore Two Important Works of Art
Giuseppe SpotoAccounts of Chemical Research2002 35 (8), 652-659Detecting Past Attempts To Restore Two Important Works of Art
Giuseppe SpotoAccounts of Chemical Research2002 35 (8), 652-659Chemistry plays a fundamental role in the preservation of our heritage. Artistic and archaeological materials deteriorate over time due to their interaction with the environment, and human intervention can trigger unexpected deterioration pathways. ...
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- Received: August 03, 2009
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