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The mysterious halos in iron gall ink manuscripts: an analytical explanation

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Abstract

Three historical manuscripts, two on parchment (dated 1280 and 1514) and one on paper support (dated 1589–1592), were under study. The three manuscripts were strongly attacked by microorganisms exhibiting dark brownish stains all over the surface except in the adjacent areas to some of the used inks, where a halo around the written text could be observed. In order to understand the origin of these halos, inks and manuscript supports were analyzed using portable energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Characteristic elements (Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn) from iron gall inks were identified. Inks surrounded by a halo had in common a high amount of Zn in their composition. Microbiologic assays were performed aseptically on collected samples from the areas of the document with significant contamination and degradation. Samples were inoculated in a selective culture media, and the microorganisms developed were identified according to the macroscopic and microscopic features. For the evaluation of microflora proliferation, scanning electron microscopy was used. Furthermore, in vitro tests were carried out in the presence of zinc sulfate, revealing inhibition capacity for the majority of fungi sampled from these manuscripts.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT): Project Ref. SPTDC/EAT/112662/2009. M. Manso , M. Guerra, and S. Pessanha are supported by FCT through the Grants Ref. SFRH/BPD/70031/2010, Ref. SFRH/BPD/92455/2013, and Ref. SFRH/BPD/94234/2013, respectively. Authors would like to thank Sintra City Hall for allowing the analytical study of the charter of Sintra; S. Lacerda, Director of the National Archive Torre do Tombo; A. Ribeiro, M. Costa, S. Domingos, and T. Rosado for the support, the suggestions, and the fruitful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Física Atómica da Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Professor Gama Pinto 2, 1649-003, Lisbon, Portugal

    Marta Manso, Ana Mafalda Cardeira, Agnès Le Gac, Sofia Pessanha, Mauro Guerra & Maria Luísa Carvalho

  2. Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa, Largo da Academia Nacional de Belas Artes, 1249-058, Lisbon, Portugal

    Marta Manso & Ana Mafalda Cardeira

  3. Laboratório HERCULES, Departamento de Química e Centro de Química de Évora, Universidade de Évora, Largo Marquês de Marialva 8, 7000, Évora, Portugal

    Mara Silva, Ana Teresa Caldeira & António Candeias

  4. Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal

    Agnès Le Gac & Maria Luísa Carvalho

  5. Laboratório José de Figueiredo, Direcção-Geral do Património Cultural, Rua das Janelas Verdes 37, 1249-018, Lisbon, Portugal

    António Candeias

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  1. Marta Manso
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  2. Ana Mafalda Cardeira
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  3. Mara Silva
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  4. Agnès Le Gac
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  5. Sofia Pessanha
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  6. Mauro Guerra
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  7. Ana Teresa Caldeira
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  8. António Candeias
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  9. Maria Luísa Carvalho
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Correspondence to Marta Manso.

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Manso, M., Cardeira, A.M., Silva, M. et al. The mysterious halos in iron gall ink manuscripts: an analytical explanation. Appl. Phys. A 118, 1107–1111 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-014-8924-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-014-8924-z

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