INVESTIGATION OF ANCIENT AND NEW JAPANESE PAPERS

Two Japanese papers, one from a colour wood-block print (ukiyo-e) by t he artist Kunisada amd a similar recent paper, have been investigated comparatively by thermoanalytical methods, infrared spectroscopy and s canning electron microscopy. Two further paper samples, produced from different plant raw materials, have been included in the morphological comparison. This combination of methods allows to characterization an d differentiation of different papers and a qualitative determination of their age.