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This paper presents the authentication analysis of a bronze bust of Napoleon I, attributed to the Italian artist Renzo Colombo (1856–1885) based on his signature and other casting and molding inscriptions. The bust was made using the lost wax technique and artificially patinated in the Pinédo variant workshop. This study combined historiographical research (using the specialized literature) with data from auction catalogs. These were compared with photographs of the entire bust and close-up images of key areas, including anthropomorphic features, clothing, inscriptions, and structural and ornamental details. The condition of the bust and its historical and chemical characteristics were assessed through direct analysis with magnifying tools and indirect analysis using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the archaeometric and chemometric authentication of a Renaissance-style oil painting on linen canvas, with plaster and barium sulphate-based primer preparation and bone glue as binder. By optical microscopy (OM), stereomicroscopy (SOM), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), a series of archaeometric characteristics were identified: the grain size of the chemical components of the paint layers, the 3D porosity distribution of the pigments, the degree of penetration between the paint layers and the varnish and between the varnish and the oxidatively anchored dirt, and the typology of the craquelure (craquelure network arrangement and morphology). By correlating the results obtained, it was possible to estimate the period of the painting as 1660 ± 3 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damascus steel was used in the manufacture of swords and hunting knives before medieval times. The original method of the manufacturing of this type of steel has been lost to time. The research set out to create Damascus steel knives reconstituted according to the recipe from documents written many years ago. The study of Damascus steel provided an opportunity to observe in detail the laborious process of manufacturing this material, which involves free forging and pressure welding of different layers of steel to obtain a particularly strong and durable finished product. To carry out this research, two types of steel were selected to create Damascus steel: AISI 1095 and 15N20 steel. During this study, a functional furnace was built, able to contribute by heating the samples to the hot forging process of these two different materials. By applying a complex process of heating and forging and then repeating this process, the layers of steel were welded together, resulting in an extremely resistant material with a unique aesthetic appearance. Sample processing and the laboratory tests were performed on the obtained Damascus steel to evaluate its mechanical properties, including processing the results using Autodesk Inventor Professional 2023 and simulation in Ansys 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]