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http://hdl.handle.net/2122/2375
Authors: | Cotte, M.* Susini, J.* Métrich, N.* Moscato, A.* Gratziu, C.* Bertagnini, A.* Pagano, M.* |
Title: | Blackening of Pompeian Cinnabar paintings: X-ray micro-spectroscopy analysis | Journal: | Analytical Chemistry | Series/Report no.: | 21/78 (2006) | Publisher: | American Chemical Society | Issue Date: | 2006 | DOI: | 10.1021/ac0612224 | Keywords: | Microspectroscopy Analysis | Subject Classification: | 05. General::05.09. Miscellaneous::05.09.99. General or miscellaneous | Abstract: | Red Pompeian paintings, very famous for their deep intensity, are currently suffering from darkening. The origins of this darkening degradation are not clearly identified yet and remain a major issue for curators. In the specific case of cinnabar (HgS)-based red pigment, a photoinduced conversion into black metacinnabar is usually suspected. This work is focused on the blackening of red cinnabar paintings coated on a sparry calcite mortar. Different samples exhibiting different levels of degradation were selected upon visual observations and analyzed by synchrotron-based microanalytical techniques. Atomic and molecular compositions of the different debased regions revealed two possible degradation mechanisms. On one hand, micro X-ray fluorescence elemental maps show peculiar distributions of chlorine and sulfur. On the other hand, X-ray absorption spectroscopy performed at both Cl and S K-edges confirms the presence of characteristic degradation products: (i) Hg- Cl compounds (e.g., corderoite, calomel, and terlinguaite), which may result from the reaction with exogenous NaCl, in gray areas; (ii) gypsum, produced by the calcite sulfation, in black coatings. Metacinnabar is never detected. Finally, a cross section was analyzed to map the in-depth alteration gradient. Reduced and oxidized sulfur distributions reveal that the sulfated black coating consists of a 5-ím-thick layer covering intact cinnabar. |
Appears in Collections: | Article published / in press |
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