Indagini preliminari ToF-SIMS su manufatti lignei provenienti dal museo diocesano di Palermo

The Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a methodology only recently applied to the study of the artworks. This tecnique allow the acquisition of a high amount of morphological and chemical information, directly related to the surface properties of the investigated sample. Through this technique it is possible to carry out an elemental analysis of the material as well as a determination of molecular ions (organic and/or inorganic) with a molecular weight ≤ 5000 Dalton (atomic mass unit). Moreover it is possible to use this spectrometry in an Imaging mode, that supplies a spatial distribution of the present substances, by the generation of "a chemical image", with a v…

Diagnostic analyses of the wooden statue of Madonna di Monserrato

Indagini diagnostiche della statua lignea della Madonna di Monserrato

The restoration of the wooden statue of Madonna of Montserrat at the Diocesan Museum of Palermo was preceded by a series of chemical-physical and biological investigations which have allowed a better knowledge of the work. In particular the following analyses have been performed on fragment of original material, sampled near the gaps of the wooden statue,: • observations of cross sections to the reflected light Optical Microscope (OM) to identify the stratigraphy and the pictorial materials; • SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) observations on cross sections and analysis in microprobe with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) for structural and chemical analysis of the single pictorial laye…