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SR-XRD and SR-FTIR study of the alteration of silver foils in medieval paintings

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Abstract

Altarpieces and polychrome carved wood from the fifteenth century AD usually exhibit golden and silvery areas by the application of a very thin foil of metal. The metal foils were normally protected from the atmosphere by a varnish or resin which maybe either preserved or absent. Moreover, they were glued to the background surface by adhesive substances (egg yolk, drying oil or animal glue). The high proportion of the glueing substances often renders the development of reaction compounds. With time, silver alters blacken or simply disappear completely. In this paper, we study the alterations to metal foils from a selection of fifteenth century artworks showing different glueing agents, organic coatings and several degrees of conservation of the organic coatings and metal leafs. The submillimetric layered structure and the high variability and low amount of most of the compounds present in the different layers, as well as their differing nature (organic and inorganic) make the use of micron-sensitive high-resolution techniques essential for their study. In particular, the high resolution, high brilliance and small footprint renders synchrotron radiation most adequate for their study. SR-XRD was performed to identify the reaction compounds formed in the different layers; μFTIR was used at to identify the silver protecting organic coatings, the metal foil glueing layers and the corresponding reaction compounds. The results obtained suggest that atmospheric corrosion is the dominant mechanism, and therefore that the degree of corrosion of the metal foils is mainly related to the conservation state of the protecting coatings.

Sampling point, MO image from surface of the sample and SEM image from polish cross-section of the sample

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by SM2410 project (beamline B22) at Diamond Light Source, EC-69 (beamline BM01, Swiss/Norwegian CRG) and 16-01-733 (beamline BM16, Spanish CRG) projects at ESRF. Part of this work was carried out within the framework of agreements of collaboration between the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and the “Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya” (MNAC) and the “Centre de Restauració de Béns Mobles de Catalunya” (CRBMC). We wish to thank the TdArt restorers and Vinseum Museum for their collaboration in the study and for the access given to sampling of the paintings. Received financial support under “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (Spain) Grant HAR2009-10790

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpt. d’Enginyeria Química. EPSEVG, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Av. Víctor Balaguer s/n, 08800, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, Spain

    Nati Salvadó & Salvador Butí

  2. BM16-CRG Consorci Laboratori de Llum Sincrotró (LLS) c/o ESRF, 38043, Grenoble, France

    Ana Labrador

  3. Diamond Light Source, Harwell Campus, Chilton–Didcot, OX11 0DE, Oxon, UK

    Gianfelice Cinque

  4. BM01-ESRF, BP 220, 38043, Grenoble, France

    Hermann Emerich

  5. Dpt. Física i Enginyeria Nuclear, ESAB, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Campus del Baix Llobregat. Av. del Canal Olímpic 15, 08860, Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain

    Trinitat Pradell

Authors
  1. Nati Salvadó
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  2. Salvador Butí
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  3. Ana Labrador
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  4. Gianfelice Cinque
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  5. Hermann Emerich
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  6. Trinitat Pradell
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nati Salvadó.

Additional information

This paper was published in the special issue Analytical Chemistry for Cultural Heritage with Guest Editors Rocco Mazzeo, Silvia Prati and Aldo Roda.

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Salvadó, N., Butí, S., Labrador, A. et al. SR-XRD and SR-FTIR study of the alteration of silver foils in medieval paintings. Anal Bioanal Chem 399, 3041–3052 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-010-4365-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-010-4365-5

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