Raman spectroscopic analysis of pigments from dynastic Egyptian funerary artefacts

Abstract

As part of a comprehensive analytical survey, Raman spectra were obtained of pigments from ancient Egyptian funerary artefacts dating from the 17th Dynasty to the Graeco-Roman period, using several laser excitation wavelengths. A wide colour palette has been identified with mineral pigments and pigment mixtures; several variations were detected with dynastic changes. The artefacts include sarcophagi, coffin lids, shroud covers and mummy face-masks. Haematite was in universal use throughout the dynastic period studied here, which represents some 2000 years of Egyptian history, but minerals such as cinnabar and minium appear only in artefacts from the Ptolemaic and Graeco-Roman periods. Different pigments were used to produce similar colours on some associated artefacts and several artefacts have mixtures of pigments for a single colour. One 17th Dynasty sarcophagus, dating from ca 1600 BC, had an unusual suite of pigments, with the blue pigment lazurite and a mixture of crocoite, limonite and calcite used as a yellow pigment. This coffin was heavily restored in the 20th Century and these unusual pigments could have arisen from this restoration.

Raman spectroscopy for the investigation of carbon‐based black pigments

“…Carbon materials, of mineral, vegetable or animal origin, composed ideally of pure carbon, were largely employed during prehistory [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] and were never abandoned by artists and artisans. [9] Carbon-based materials are suitable for both dry and liquid drawing (in the form of graphite, charcoal sticks, black chalk, pastels and inks, respectively [1] ) and have been used as pigments for paintings, [2,5,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] for polychrome objects [9,19] and for pottery. [8,20] The continuity of use through time and the worldwide distribution of this kind of materials require the establishment of a welldefined terminology that could be easily used for archaeometrical applications, but that keeps into account the major contributions of geological and industrial research to the study of carbon-based materials, along with the information from artistic literature (treatises [1,21,22] ).…”

“…Ekain cave, Basque country, 16 500-12 500 BP, [5] ancestral Puebloan artefacts, 1000-1200 AD [15] ), in dynastic Egyptian manufacts, [19] in Greek-Roman remains throughout Europe. [1,16] Some raw materials (crayons from prehistoric sites and paint pots from Pompei) have also been investigated.…”

Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography with Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection for Separation of Red and Yellow Historical Dyes

“…A number of instrumental approaches have been used to identify and characterize dyes in historical objects. These include ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) reflectance spectroscopy [7][8][9][10], Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy [11][12][13] and Raman spectroscopy [14,15]. The lack of specificity and the poor sensitivity of these approaches make them less than ideal for detecting small quantities of dye.…”

Multi-disciplinary investigation of the tomb of Menna (TT69), Theban Necropolis, Egypt

“…In the past, many research papers have been published on ancient Egyptian painting, and based their methodology on the style or iconography of these paintings. In the past, several technical examinations, including Raman spectroscopy, have been applied on antique Egyptian objects, usually in a museum context [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. The current research paper reports on the first extensive in situ archaeometric survey of ancient Egyptian tomb painting with the goal of ascertaining their materials, transformations and artistic techniques.…”