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The paper presents the stages and the operations involved in the preservation and restoration of two icons on wooden support, from the XIX-th century, which are part of the heritage of the ”Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail and Gavriil” church, from Galați. The two icon have inventory numbers as part of the collection as followed: 112 for the first icon and 113 for the second one. Both icons have the same theme, ”The Grieving Mother from Rohia” and are made by anonymous painters in egg tempera, on lime wooden support, without ground. Being part of the same collection, they were deposited in the same place and as a direct consequence, they suffer from similar deteriorations and degradations that affect both the support and the painting layer. Both panels are attacked by xylophagous insects and the painting layer has detachments, gaps, cracks, clogged dirt and a cracked and degraded varnish layer. Ten samples taken from the already detached areas were analyzed by optical microscope, SEM-EDX and micro-FTIR. Based on the chemical elements identified in the EDX spectrums, the pigments used to create the painting layer are: ultramarine natural blue Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4, carbon black, earth green, K[(Al,FeIII),(FeII,Mg)](AlSi3,Si4)O10(OH)2, ocher (FeO), burned or natural umber Fe2O3· H2O + MnO2·n H2O+ Al2O3, lead white (2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2) and yellow iron oxide (Fe2O3·4H2O). It was also determined that the gold leaf usually used in byzantine icons was replaced in the case of both icons: the icon number 112 has silver leaf covered with varnish, while the halo of the icon number 113 was created with yellow metallic pigments (realgar or orpigment).The pigments were also identified by determining specific peaks in micro-FTIR spectrums. For natural ultramarine blue the peaks between 628 - 724 cm-1 were assigned; the peaks in the interval 795 - 887 cm-1 confirm the presence of carbonates (calcium and lead based). The earth green pigment (aluminum - silicates) had the peaks between 1464 - 1599, while the carbon black pigment was confirmed by the peaks in the interval 921 - 1060 cm-1. After the pigments and the materials used by the author were identified, the restoration process begun with the following stages: consolidation of the painting layer (fish glue 8% and japanese paper), stopping the xylophagous attack (encapsulation with nitrogen), consolidation of the wood supports (colophon and wax, 1:1), cleaning the painting layer (ethylic alcohol and distilled water, 1:1), filling the gaps and reintegrating the fillings in tratteggio, all followed by the process of varnishing the two icons.

The paper presents the conservation state of a XVIII-th century triptych, evaluated by analyzing the materials and the technologies used to create it. The triptych is part of the Neamt Agapia monastery collection. It is made out of hand carved lime wood, painted in egg tempera, by an unknown author. The theme of the triptych is “Annunciation” and it is painted in a miniaturist style, all the architectural details on the background of the icon being oversized. A variety of materials was used to create this art piece: the lime wood for the support, metal for the hinges and hanger and the fish glue used at binder and various pigments. This triptych is extremely important not only for its cultural value, but also for its historical perspective because inside the triptych there is a memorial of the founders of the cemetery church of Agapia monastery. The wooden support, the metallic elements and the painting layer are affected by a series of deteriorations and degradations, all caused by the storage environment, the ageing of the materials and improper handling. In order to determine the conservation state and to authenticate the triptych MO and SEM-EDX were used. Archeometrical characteristics of pigments and binders were identified. The obtained data will be used to established a restoration protocol for the triptych.

Abstract. The present paper presents the conservation state and the making of a 3D model of a XVIII-th century orthodox icon on wood support, using free available software and cloud computing. In order to create the 3D model of the painting layer of the icon a number of 70 pictures were taken using a Nikon DSLR D3300, 24.2 MP in setup with a Hama Star 75 photo tripod, in loops 360° around the painting, at three different angles. The pictures were processed with Autodesk 123D Catch, which automatically finds and matches common features among all of the uploaded photographs in order to create the 3D scene, using the power and speed of cloud computing. The obtained 3D model was afterwards analyzed and processed in order to obtain a final version, which can now be use to better identify, to map and to prioritize the future conservation processes and finally can be shared online as an animation.

The paper presents the study of old ornamentation techniques used into making of two icons from the XVIII-th century, part of the heritage of Tazlau monastery, Neamt County. In order to do this, the materials used to create the polychrome layers and their current conservation state was analyzed. The data obtained by investigating the two mentioned elements have allowed for the identification of different traditional techniques, used for ornamental gilding. Optical microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscope coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) were employed in the analyses. The archaeometrical characteristics of the pigments and binders, collaborated with the aesthetic analyses, allowed the dating of the two icons for the end of the XVIII-th century.