Advanced imaging techniques can noninvasively characterise, monitor, and evaluate how conservation treatments affect cultural heritage objects. In this specific field, hyperspectral imaging allows nondestructive characterisation of materials by identifying and characterising colouring agents, binders, and protective coatings as components of an object’s original construction or later historic additions. Furthermore, hyperspectral imaging can be used to monitor deterioration or changes caused by environmental conditions. This paper examines the potential of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) for the evaluation of heritage objects. Four cameras operating in different spectral ranges were used to nondestructively scan a beehive panel painting that originated from the Slovene Ethnographic Museum collection. The specific objective of this research was to identify pigments and binders present in the samples and to spatially map the presence of these across the surface of the art piece. Merging the results with databases created in parallel using other reference methods allows for the identification of materials originally used by the artist on the panel. Later interventions to the original paintings can also be traced as part of past conservation campaigns.

Highlights• 11 fungal isolates from cultural heritage institutions' interiors were screened for xerophilic trait • Specially designed incubators were constructed to hold specific RH levels of 55 %, 63 % and 74 %• Fungal growth was monitored at low relative humidity on wood and glass supports painted by traditional artists' paints • Effects of pigments, support materials and strain variability are discussed

In this study, a painted beehive panel from the collection of Slovene Ethnographic Museum was examined with respect to its material composition with the aim to reveal the painting technique. Due to the state of degradation due to outdoor weathering (UV irradiation, rainfall, extreme temperature and humidity fluctuations), as well as past conservation interventions, the object represented a complex analytical challenge. We aimed for non-invasive techniques (FTIR in reflection mode, Raman spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging in the range of 400 to 2500 nm), however in order to explore paint layers, cross-sections were also analysed using Raman spectroscopy. FTIR spectroscopy in transmission mode and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry were also used on sample fragments. Various original materials were identified such as pigments and binders. The surface coating applied during restoration interventions was also characterised. Additionally, organic compounds (oxalate, carboxylate), representing transformation products, were found. The potential use of Prussian blue as a background paint layer is discussed.

Painted beehive panels are representative examples of folk art specific and unique to Slovenia. Although without precedence in European ethnographic art, not much attention has been given in the past to the artists' materials involved in the creation of these paintings. This study, which included three different panels (dating from the beginning of the 19th to the second half of the 20th centuries), was focused on material characterization using Raman and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) spectroscopy (non-, minimally invasive and invasive). The analyses showed that many of the examined paint layers were composed of historically commonly available colouring agents, although less traditional ones were also detected on individual panels. Additionally, the research suggests that lipids are the main or even the sole component of the paints' binder. This evidence corresponds fairly well with written texts of the 20th century.

In this study, a painted beehive panel from the collection of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum was examined with respect to its material composition with the aim to reveal the painting technique. Due to the state of degradation due to outdoor weathering (UV irradiation, rainfall, extreme temperature and humidity fluctuations), as well as past conservation interventions, the object represented a complex analytical challenge. We aimed for non-invasive techniques (FTIR in reflection mode, Raman spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging in the range of 400–2500 nm); however, in order to explore paint layers, cross-sections were also analysed using Raman spectroscopy. FTIR spectroscopy in transmission mode and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry were also used on sample fragments. Various original materials were identified such as pigments and binders. The surface coating applied during conservation interventions was also characterised. Additionally, organic compounds were found (oxalate, carboxylate), representing transformation products. The potential use of Prussian blue as a background paint layer is discussed.