TECHNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE SIX ITALIC MURAL PAINTINGS NOW IN COLLECTION OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, CRACOW — PART II

The above is the second part of an article discussing the results of technological investigations carried out on six fragments of Italic mural paintings (viz. “Ochrona Zabytków”, vol. XXV, 1972, iss. 3, pp. 160—169). Results are reported with a detailed discussion of numerous chemical and physical analyses. In view of quite specific value of objects under investigations every effort has been made to carry them out by the use of methods requiring only minute quantities of samples taken or those assuring the full protection against any damage whatsoever to objects investigated. The investigations of mortars, pigments and binders were conducted with application of such methods as the pétrographie microscopic observations, emission spectrography, non-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, spectrophotometry in infra-red light, reagent dyeing analyses, microcrystallography and chromatography. The above set of analyses allowed to describe the composition of mortars and pigments used by an ancient painter. Unfortunately, no fully satisfactory answer could be arrived at with respect to problem of binder since a considerable difficulty arised owing to the lack of adequate quantity of material for investigation. However, as a result of investigations conducted it has proved possible to state a considerable quantity of СаСОз and that quite negligible of wax which the facts could point to applying of a sui generis tempera paint. Also not excluded might be the presence of some additions of hardly identifiable organic matter. In addition to the above investigations a series of mycological analyses was carried out that pointed to the presence of active microorganisms who may cause the decay of polychromies. Preventive disinfection of objects investigated was undertaken. As complex investigations of mural paintings as those described here were made for the first time in this country