Hunting for Paper Moldmates Among Rembrandt's Prints: Chain-line pattern matching

Abstract

E arly paper manufacturing used sieve-like molds through which paper pulp was drained. Two pieces of paper are called moldmates if they were made using the same mold. When a large body of one artist's work on paper exists, the identification of moldmates can help in establishing chronology, suggest paper preferences, and indicate periods of intense activity of the artist. Rembrandt is an especially good example. With several thousand prints in existence today, the study of Rembrandt's prints has occupied scholars for over two centuries, and the study of his printing papers occupies a prominent place within this scholarship [1]. This article examines the feasibility of moldmate identification via chain-line pattern matching and conducts a series of experiments that demonstrate how accurately the measurements can be made, how straight and parallel the lines may be, and provides a rule of thumb for the number of chain lines required for accurate moldmate identification using a simplified model. The problem of identifying moldmates among Rembrandt's prints is presented as a pair of image/signal processing tasks; our strategy is to provide basic solutions to these tasks and to then reveal the shortcomings of these solutions in the hopes of encouraging future work in the signal processing community. With the support of the Morgan Library & Museum and the Metropolitan

ChainLineNet: Deep-Learning-Based Segmentation and Parameterization of Chain Lines in Historical Prints

“…In an intermediate step, they rotated the image to upright the chain lines by means of chain line detection and Radon transform. Johnson et al [1] published a method to find moldmates among Rembrandt's prints in beta-radiographs. Their chain line pattern matching approach uses unique chain spacing sequences in the paper structure rather than watermarks to identify the moldmates.…”

“…Then, the paper was scooped by hand using a mold with a wire sieve made of closely spaced "laid" wires and perpendicular more widely spaced "chain" wires. After scooping the fibers from the vat, the remaining fibrous web on the wire sieve forms the paper [1]. On its surface, the grid pattern of the wires is imparted, as can be seen in the transmitted light photographs in Figure 1a,c,e,g.…”

“…The impression of the sieve provides a unique conclusion to identify the mold. Images formed by the same mold are called moldmates [1]. Papers from different origins have different line sequences.…”

Contrast in Terahertz Images of Archival Documents—Part II: Influence of Topographic Features

“…Similarly, terahertz timedomain imaging could potentially reveal the presence of sieve lines and watermarks intrinsic to the paper sheets within a document. Such information is of interest to curators and historians as it can help identify the date and location of manufacture of the paper sheets [6]. This paper explores the information that is imparted by topographic features commonly found in archival documents on the terahertz time-domain waveforms reflected from a document, and identifies parameters and signal processing techniques that can be used to generate well-contrasted terahertz images of such topographic features.…”

Wove paper analysis through texture similarities

“…The Supported by grant ANR MultiFracs 2016 and CNRS GDRI International Research Network on Photography, France grid-like pattern of crisscrossed chain and laid lines is thus replicated in the structure or formation of the final sheet of paper and is also replicated in its surface texture or finish. Paper having this formation is called laid paper, and the pattern left by the wire molds has been used recently to classify these papers [2]. After 1750, a smooth-surfaced paper was developed by using a woven screen also in a mold surrounded by a removable frame [3].…”