Stratigraphic analysis of historical wooden samples from ancient bowed string instruments by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

•Stratigraphic information about coating systems of historical bowed string instruments.•Depth resolved combined LIBS and OCT analyses.•Identification of elemental markers related to each layer. One of the most hotly debated subjects in lutherie circles is the composition of the finishing layers app...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of cultural heritage Vol. 44; pp. 275 - 284
Main Authors Poggialini, F., Fiocco, G., Campanella, B., Legnaioli, S., Palleschi, V., Iwanicka, M., Targowski, P., Sylwestrzak, M., Invernizzi, C., Rovetta, T., Albano, M., Malagodi, M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Masson SAS 01.07.2020
Subjects
LIBS
Musical instruments
OCT
Spectroscopy
Stratigraphy
Tomography
Violins
Musical instruments
OCT
Spectroscopy
Tomography
Stratigraphy
LIBS
Violins
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:•Stratigraphic information about coating systems of historical bowed string instruments.•Depth resolved combined LIBS and OCT analyses.•Identification of elemental markers related to each layer. One of the most hotly debated subjects in lutherie circles is the composition of the finishing layers applied by the violinmakers of the past on their valuable bowed string instruments. These are often composed of several organic and inorganic materials, variously mixed and overlaid. During the last decade many analytical strategies were put in place in order to correctly identify these materials. The most used are surely non- and micro-invasive spectroscopic techniques (e.g. XRF, EDX, FTIR) integrated, when possible, with the imaging and tomographic ones with a multi-analytical approach. In this work, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) were tested together on laboratory mockups and historical bowed string instruments in order to identify and characterize the materials composing the finishing layers of these selected artworks.
ISSN:1296-2074
1778-3674
DOI:10.1016/j.culher.2020.01.011