The neu_ART project aims at developing state of the art transmission imaging and computed tomography techniques, applied to art objects, by using neutrons as well as more conventional X-rays. In this paper a facility for digital X-ray radiography of large area paintings on canvas or wooden panels and for the X-ray tomography of large size wooden artifacts, recently installed in a protected area, is presented. The results of a K-edge radiography facility that will soon be installed in the same area are also shown.

X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is a widely used diagnostic technique in the field of Cultural Heritage and beyond, above all thanks to its non-invasiveness. The high penetrating power of X-rays allows us to investigate the internal structure of the analysed objects, thus obtaining valuable information related to the history of artistic and archaeological finds. In particular, CT provides useful data on the entire volume of the objects, to finally obtain a 3D model of the studied artworks. In this field, the goal of the “neu_ART” project, a collaboration among different institutions in Torino funded by Regione Piemonte in 2010, was to develop radio-tomographic set-ups for X-ray imaging analysis dedicated to Cultural Heritage studies. In this paper, a computed tomography investigation on an ancient ceramic rattle from the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Torino is presented. This is the first analysis carried out at the Physics Department of University of Torino, using the imaging set-up based on a TDI linear detector moved by a high precision mechanical system. Thanks to this study, much information on the technique of execution and the state of conservation was obtained.