Analysis of materials of wax Christ-children from the Monastery of Santa Rosa in Viterbo

Arianna Ceci, Luca Lanteri, Claudia Pelosi, Paola Pogliani, Sabrina Sottile

Abstract

This paper reports the results of the analysis performed on three wax Christ-children (wax Bambinelli) preserved in the monastery of Santa Rosa in Viterbo. The analysis was performed on the occasion of the restoration, recently concluded, with the aim at supporting the working operations. The characterisation of the materials was particularly relevant for this kind of objects because they are little studied being considered of lesser artistic relevance than other artworks. But the wax babies are very important for their religious values and for technical details and peculiarities: apart from wax, precious textiles and decoration can be found in their dresses and ornaments. The materials were characterised by 2D and 3D ultraviolet fluorescence imaging, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, optical microscopy.<BR />These techniques were used for investigating both the waxy mixture composition and the textile fibers of the babies hair

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IMEKO-MetroArchaeo-2023-089.pdf

DOI

10.21014/tc4-ARC-2023.089

IMEKO TC

TC4 - Measurement of Electrical Quantities

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