Abstract
Abstract Knowledge about pigments applied in ancient wall paintings is of great importance in art conservation and art history. In this study, fifteen pigment samples from the wall painting on the pilgrimage-corridor at the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet were analyzed, using different techniques, including X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Raman microspectroscopy (Raman), polarized light microscopy (PLM), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS). It is found that azurite, malachite, red lead, cinnabar, mars red, orpiment, gold, calcite, magnesium carbonate, barium white, especially modern synthetic Ultramarine blue, emerald green, chrome yellow and lithopone were used as colorants on plaster. This result suggests that the wall painting may have been executed after the 1850s, mostly in about the 1900s.
Highlights
The identification of pigments is one of the most important analytical tasks in the characterization of ancient paintings, as it provides a rich source of information about the provenance, date of production, development of painting traditions, and trade of the pigments
The samples of DZ12–DZ15 were taken from the wall painting by scalpel and just in powdery particles and contain a lot of mud, so they cannot be analysed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
Modern synthetic pigments used in wall paintings In this work, we have found that Tibetan artists used traditional mineral pigments and many artificially synthetic pigments, i.e. Ultramarine blue, emerald green, chrome yellow and lithopone
Summary
The identification of pigments is one of the most important analytical tasks in the characterization of ancient paintings, as it provides a rich source of information about the provenance, date of production, development of painting traditions, and trade of the pigments. Pigments and other materials applied by painters are of great importance in art history and for art conservation. They are crucial for selecting the most appropriate materials and methods for art restoration. According to previous scientific investigations, emerald green, Scheele green and orpiment were listed as typical pigments used for Tibetan Thangka paintings (15th-19th century) [4]. Malachite, red lead and cinnabar were identified in the wall paintings in the Potala Palace and the Norbuglinkha and Sa-Skya Monastery in Tibet in 2002 [5]. In 2010, Azurite, malachite, red lead, cinnabar, orpiment and gypsum were found in a Tibetan Thangka painting of the 18th century at the Derge Monastery with a mobile Raman probe [6]. Pigment samples from the wall paintings of the 15th century at the Tsokchen Chanting Hall of the Drepung Monastery were identified as cinnabar, iron red, malachite, azurite, orpiment, chalk and carbon [7], while pigments from the Palcho Monastery were identified as cinnabar, iron yellow, malachite, azurite, chalk and carbon [8]
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