Abstract
This paper presents the work done as part of a master dissertation on Conservation and Restoration at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Nova University of Lisbon. The “Cofre n.º 31” is a French fifteenth century Book of Hours from the Library of the National Palace of Mafra, Portugal. This prayer book, composed by illuminations and devotional texts, was in bad condition due mainly to the rebinding done between eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. According to the assessment of the state of conservation, the main damages observed in the text block and binding were: volume distortion, loose and deformed gatherings, distortion and cockling of folios, and damages in the illuminations. The pigments palette was identified by µ-EDXRF, FORS, µ-Raman and µ-FTIR, which is consistent with the materials used in the fifteenth century. Nevertheless, some particular application techniques such as mixtures and overlays were found, namely in the red colours and specifically in the metallic leaves. Some of these colours also show specific degradation: darkening of the mixture of minium and vermillion; silver tarnishing with strong migration into the parchment support, especially when associated with minium; detachment of azurite, lead white and its mixtures, such as flesh tones and light colours. The main deterioration processes associated to silver and pigments can be assigned to their reactions with humidity and air pollutants, to the grain size of the pigments and to mechanical factors related to the book binding and its use. The presence of different pigments application techniques in different groups of folios lead us to conclude for the existence of a pigments palette with variations, and finally, three different illuminators and two different techniques, confirming the proposals of art history studies.
Highlights
The theme of this paper is centered in the material study of the Book of Hours Cofre n.o 31, from the collection of Books of Hours from the Library of Mafra National Palace, work carried out as part of a master’s dissertation [1]
The stereomicroscope was used for observation of the pigments and their application
Conclusions and final considerations The Book of Hours Cofre n.o 31 was studied in its historical and material aspects: a broad diagnosis of its state of conservation was carried out, which included a detailed examination of the parchment and its pictorial layer
Summary
The theme of this paper is centered in the material study of the Book of Hours Cofre n.o 31, from the collection of Books of Hours from the Library of Mafra National Palace, work carried out as part of a master’s dissertation [1]. This small codex, of French origin and belonging to the Portuguese heritage, was chosen because it showed the worst state of conservation among all the others in the Carvalho et al Herit Sci (2018) 6:9. The manuscript is composed of a calendar in French, for use of Paris [2], offices and prayers (mostly in Latin, but some in French) sorted in 162 folios; it contains three full-page miniatures with four lines underneath and other seven small illuminations (historiated initials and miniatures), many major and minor illuminated initials, line fillers and diverse decoration in the borders with foliations of golden ivy leaves, stylised flowers and acanthus leaves (Fig. 2a–l)
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