MA‐XRF study of 15th–17th century icons from the collection of the National Museum in Krakow, Poland

Abstract

In 2015, the National Museum in Krakow, Poland, started a grant from the National Programme for the Development of Humanities, its goal to investigate an important collection of old Orthodox painting, including more than 50 15th to 17th century icons originating from the territory of the historical Orthodox Diocese of Przemyśl within the borders of the Polish Kingdom. The aim of researching the iconography, provenance, and technology of the artworks was to describe their specific features and destination, in detail, and to characterise their artistic milieu. Many different techniques were used during research, such as X‐ray fluorescence (XRF), X‐ray diffraction, reflectography, radiography, ultraviolet–visible imaging, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy of prepared paint layer cross sections, and dendro‐chronological analysis. This paper focuses on highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of the spatially resolved macro‐XRF scanning (MA‐XRF) technique. Most interesting results concluded from elemental distribution maps obtained through the use of Bruker, M6 Jetstream MA‐XRF scanner include the following: characterisation of the type of gold and silver foil used in the icons; determination of main pigments, including the use of lead tin yellow unusual in iconography; and the noting of an interesting distribution of blue pigments as well as the presence of orpiment. Surprisingly, a considerable amount of zinc with azurite addition was observed in brown layers. The results obtained primarily highlight all the typical features of local Carpathian icon craft.

Sicilian Byzantine Icons through the Use of Non-Invasive Imaging Techniques and Optical Spectroscopy: The Case of the Madonna dell’Elemosina

“…The presence of calcium (Ca) and strontium (Sr) in all the analyzed area is attributable to the gypsum used for the preparation layer. The presence of strontium in small quantities is associated with celestite, a mineral often found together with gypsum [17,31,32].…”

“…Among the cultural heritage sites and museums in Belarus, the Vetka Museum of Old Believer Faith and Belarusian Traditions in the Gomel region is evidence of the history of the country because it has a unique collection of the Old Believers' Icons, manuscripts, and early printed books of the 16-19th centuries, and others [16], and it presents the art, culture, and creativity of several folk traditions of the region in the southeast of Belarus. In Poland, the National Museum in Krakow saves the oldest and most precious collections of old Orthodox paintings and Icons in Central Europe [17] (from the 15th to 17th century under the Jagiellonian dynasty's rule), originating from the territory of the historical Orthodox Diocese of Przemyśl within the borders of the Polish Kingdom [18]. In Italy, in some small towns, especially in the south, many Icons are saved and preserved by each local community which, since the early 16th century, consider the sacred images the prestigious heritage of Greek art or ancient Byzantine tradition, testimony, and treasure of the east European art and spirituality of their historical community [19,20].…”

On the Red and Yellow Pigments of Post‐Byzantine Greek Icons*

“…2013; Walczak et al . 2019). However, most of these studies deal with one or a few artefacts, and the information gathered so far is insufficient for an assessment of the evolution of painting materials’ use during the post‐Byzantine period.…”

Application of Factorisation Methods to Analysis of Elemental Distribution Maps Acquired with a Full-Field XRF Imaging Spectrometer

“…As long as the intensity of X-rays is kept within certain limits, this can be considered as a noninvasive technique, and, as such, it is suitable for the investigation of surface layers of valuable art objects. The technique is widely used for the investigation of paintings [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ].…”

“…When applied to the investigation of large area painting, it becomes quite time consuming, although much progress has been made recently in various aspects of this method, including X-ray tubes, radiation detectors, mechanical scanning systems, and software. There is a commercially available instrument from Bruker Nano GmbH known as M6-Jetstream [ 7 ], which is used nowadays for investigation of flat cultural heritage objects, like paintings, icons, manuscripts, and stained glass [ 6 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. It is worth noting that the instrument has been developed addressing specific requirements of cultural heritage studies.…”