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During the restoration process of a huge oil canvas (266 cm × 361 cm × 3 cm) by Agostino Bosia, a deep diagnostic campaign was carried out to characterize the original materials and those stratified over time. The activity was supported by the technologies available today in the field of conservation of the Cultural Heritage. Multispectral analyses (UV fluorescence, infrared reflectography, infrared false‐colour post‐production, digital radiography) associated with punctual (X‐Ray Fluorescence, Fibre Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy) and microstratigraphic analyses (visible light and UV fluorescence optical microscopy and SEM–EDX) allowed to accurately reconstruct the artist's creative process and to identify the pictorial materials. The well‐known analytical protocol was finally combined with Macro X‐ray Fluorescence scanning technique (MA‐XRF) in order to consolidate the results of the punctual, non‐invasive analyses over a large area of the canvas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multidisciplinary and multi‐technical study of the coffin lid of Neskhonsuennekhy (Turin, Museo Egizio, inventory number S.05245) datable to the 26th dynasty (664–525 BC) was launched in 2015 at the Centro Conservazione e Restauro La Venaria Reale during the conservation activities required by the Museo Egizio, as part of wider research on the so‐called red coffins. Widespread abrasions and gaps in the pictorial stratigraphy strongly impeded the reading of the decoration, and a reddish and locally blackened material was covering many areas. Integrating multispectral imaging (UV fluorescence, VIL, IR reflectography), MA‐XRF, radiography, and analyses on micro‐samplings (OM, SEM‐EDX, FT‐IR) allowed deepening the state of preservation, detecting previous intervention, and characterizing the blackened surface, necessary to define the cleaning intervention objectives. In particular, the IR reflectography allowed recovering the readability of the beautiful drawings and the ancient hieroglyphs hidden beneath the reddish blackened surface. Based on the analytical data and compatibility with the pigments known in ancient Egypt, it was possible to return to the public the original lost decoration with a descriptive and virtual reconstruction. The new LANDIS‐X scanning station equipped with a real‐time macro XRF was fundamental for studying pigments, glazes, and mixtures besides the presence of lead impurities in the copper source used to make the Egyptian blue pigment, encouraging the research on the sources of mineral supply. Finally, this study allowed understanding the technique of execution of the find, from the assembly of the wooden elements to the reddish finish, noticing analogies with the other red coffins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray radiography is nowadays widely employed in the Cultural Heritage field and can give many and useful information on different topics related to artworks and archaeological finds. On the other hand, tomography is less diffused and more time-consuming and expensive, but overcomes the main limitation of radiography, that is the projection of the entire volume on a plane, losing information about the third dimension. This is especially true when radiography is applied to objects with complex geometry or different materials: in these cases, the real distribution of pieces and materials is sometimes impossible to understand and a tomography is necessary. In this paper, we will show the case study of the Taiefmutmut's coffin lid, a woman from Ancient Egypt, analysed with both radiography and tomography. This case is particularly significant because, even if the object is relatively simple both for geometry and materials, the results obtained with the two techniques are noticeably different. In particular, the tomography gives a larger amount of information, both on the building technique, on the state of conservation and on previous restorations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]