A non-destructive analytical study of a recently discovered Roman wall painting

Citation
S. Sciuti et al., A non-destructive analytical study of a recently discovered Roman wall painting, STUD CONSER, 46(2), 2001, pp. 132-140
Citations number
11
Categorie Soggetti
Archeology
Journal title
STUDIES IN CONSERVATION
ISSN journal
00393630 → ACNP
Volume
46
Issue
2
Year of publication
2001
Pages
132 - 140
Database
ISI
SICI code
0039-3630(2001)46:2<132:ANASOA>2.0.ZU;2-6
Abstract
A Roman wall painting of the first century AD, recently discovered in Rome, has been studied extensively, in situ, by non-destructive X-ray fluorescen ce (XRF) analysis. The coloured pigments, the medium and the plaster were a ll examined. The presence of potassium and calcium in all coloured layers d emonstrates that the painting technique is of a type very similar to that u sed in Pompeian wall paintings, and described in the 1950s by Selim Augusti . In this type of wall painting, the pigments were dissolved in a lime/soap /water solution, the function of the soap being to mitigate the negative ef fects of lime on alkali-sensitive mineral-based colours.