Famous for his paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci was the arc... more Famous for his paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci was the archetypal Renaissance man with an interest in physics, mathematics, architecture, anatomy, and engineering. Due to his investigative nature, he often experimented with new techniques, which sometimes unfortunately resulted in disastrous consequences, such as with the flaking paint of The Last Supper. Leonardo created hundreds of manuscripts, many of which are now housed in Windsor Library and curated and conserved by the Royal Collections Trust. Such manuscripts include anatomical drawings, blueprints of his futuristic inventions, and more. Many pages are mysterious, only containing drawings in the top half suggesting there should be more beneath: Leonardo typically filled the pages of his notebooks, sometimes with various unconnected topics all on the same sheet. In order to test this theory, and also to better understand his technique, three drawings from the Royal Collections Trust unde...
Although multispectral imaging (MSI) of cultural heritage, such as manuscripts, documents and art... more Although multispectral imaging (MSI) of cultural heritage, such as manuscripts, documents and artwork, is becoming more popular, a variety of approaches are taken and methods are often inconsistently documented. Furthermore, no overview of the process of MSI capture and analysis with current technology has previously been published. This research was undertaken to determine current best practice in the deployment of MSI, highlighting areas that need further research, whilst providing recommendations regarding approach and documentation. An Action Research methodology was used to characterise the current pipeline, including: literature review; unstructured interviews and discussion of results with practitioners; and reflective practice whilst undertaking MSI analysis. The pipeline and recommendations from this research will improve project management by increasing clarity of published outcomes, the reusability of data, and encouraging a more open discussion of process and application within the MSI community. The importance of thorough documentation is emphasised, which will encourage sharing of best practice and results, improving community deployment of the technique. The findings encourage efficient use and reporting of MSI, aiding access to historical analysis. We hope this research will be useful to digitisation professionals, curators and conservators, allowing them to compare and contrast current practices. Highlights: • A range of approaches are undertaken for multispectral imaging of heritage. • An Action Research methodology was used to characterise the current pipeline. • A set of recommendations for best practice and documentation are provided.
Ancient Egyptian mummies were often covered with an outer casing, panels and masks made from cart... more Ancient Egyptian mummies were often covered with an outer casing, panels and masks made from cartonnage: a lightweight material made from linen, plaster, and recycled papyrus held together with adhesive. Egyptologists, papyrologists, and historians aim to recover and read extant text on the papyrus contained within cartonnage layers, but some methods, such as dissolving mummy casings, are destructive. The use of an advanced range of different imaging modalities was investigated to test the feasibility of non-destructive approaches applied to multi-layered papyrus found in ancient Egyptian mummy cartonnage. Eight different techniques were compared by imaging four synthetic phantoms designed to provide robust, well-understood, yet relevant sample standards using modern papyrus and replica inks. The techniques include optical (multispectral imaging with reflection and transillumination, and optical coherence tomography), X-ray (X-ray fluorescence imaging, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray micro computed tomography and phase contrast X-ray) and terahertz-based approaches. Optical imaging techniques were able to detect inks on all four phantoms, but were unable to significantly penetrate papyrus. X-ray-based techniques were sensitive to iron-based inks with excellent penetration but were not able to detect carbon-based inks. However, using terahertz imaging, it was possible to detect carbon-based inks with good penetration but with less sensitivity to ironbased inks. The phantoms allowed reliable and repeatable tests to be made at multiple sites on three continents. The tests demonstrated that each imaging modality needs to be optimised for this particular application: it is, in general, not sufficient to repurpose an existing device without modification. Furthermore, it is likely that no single imaging technique will to be able to robustly detect and enable the reading of text within ancient Egyptian mummy cartonnage. However, by carefully selecting, optimising and combining techniques, text contained within these fragile and rare artefacts may eventually be open to non-destructive imaging, identification, and interpretation.
Famous for his paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci was the arc... more Famous for his paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci was the archetypal Renaissance man with an interest in physics, mathematics, architecture, anatomy, and engineering. Due to his investigative nature, he often experimented with new techniques, which sometimes unfortunately resulted in disastrous consequences, such as with the flaking paint of The Last Supper. Leonardo created hundreds of manuscripts, many of which are now housed in Windsor Library and curated and conserved by the Royal Collections Trust. Such manuscripts include anatomical drawings, blueprints of his futuristic inventions, and more. Many pages are mysterious, only containing drawings in the top half suggesting there should be more beneath: Leonardo typically filled the pages of his notebooks, sometimes with various unconnected topics all on the same sheet. In order to test this theory, and also to better understand his technique, three drawings from the Royal Collections Trust unde...
Although multispectral imaging (MSI) of cultural heritage, such as manuscripts, documents and art... more Although multispectral imaging (MSI) of cultural heritage, such as manuscripts, documents and artwork, is becoming more popular, a variety of approaches are taken and methods are often inconsistently documented. Furthermore, no overview of the process of MSI capture and analysis with current technology has previously been published. This research was undertaken to determine current best practice in the deployment of MSI, highlighting areas that need further research, whilst providing recommendations regarding approach and documentation. An Action Research methodology was used to characterise the current pipeline, including: literature review; unstructured interviews and discussion of results with practitioners; and reflective practice whilst undertaking MSI analysis. The pipeline and recommendations from this research will improve project management by increasing clarity of published outcomes, the reusability of data, and encouraging a more open discussion of process and application within the MSI community. The importance of thorough documentation is emphasised, which will encourage sharing of best practice and results, improving community deployment of the technique. The findings encourage efficient use and reporting of MSI, aiding access to historical analysis. We hope this research will be useful to digitisation professionals, curators and conservators, allowing them to compare and contrast current practices. Highlights: • A range of approaches are undertaken for multispectral imaging of heritage. • An Action Research methodology was used to characterise the current pipeline. • A set of recommendations for best practice and documentation are provided.
Ancient Egyptian mummies were often covered with an outer casing, panels and masks made from cart... more Ancient Egyptian mummies were often covered with an outer casing, panels and masks made from cartonnage: a lightweight material made from linen, plaster, and recycled papyrus held together with adhesive. Egyptologists, papyrologists, and historians aim to recover and read extant text on the papyrus contained within cartonnage layers, but some methods, such as dissolving mummy casings, are destructive. The use of an advanced range of different imaging modalities was investigated to test the feasibility of non-destructive approaches applied to multi-layered papyrus found in ancient Egyptian mummy cartonnage. Eight different techniques were compared by imaging four synthetic phantoms designed to provide robust, well-understood, yet relevant sample standards using modern papyrus and replica inks. The techniques include optical (multispectral imaging with reflection and transillumination, and optical coherence tomography), X-ray (X-ray fluorescence imaging, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray micro computed tomography and phase contrast X-ray) and terahertz-based approaches. Optical imaging techniques were able to detect inks on all four phantoms, but were unable to significantly penetrate papyrus. X-ray-based techniques were sensitive to iron-based inks with excellent penetration but were not able to detect carbon-based inks. However, using terahertz imaging, it was possible to detect carbon-based inks with good penetration but with less sensitivity to ironbased inks. The phantoms allowed reliable and repeatable tests to be made at multiple sites on three continents. The tests demonstrated that each imaging modality needs to be optimised for this particular application: it is, in general, not sufficient to repurpose an existing device without modification. Furthermore, it is likely that no single imaging technique will to be able to robustly detect and enable the reading of text within ancient Egyptian mummy cartonnage. However, by carefully selecting, optimising and combining techniques, text contained within these fragile and rare artefacts may eventually be open to non-destructive imaging, identification, and interpretation.
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