MA‐XRF study of 15th–17th century icons from the collection of the National Museum in Krakow, Poland

Abstract

In 2015, the National Museum in Krakow, Poland, started a grant from the National Programme for the Development of Humanities, its goal to investigate an important collection of old Orthodox painting, including more than 50 15th to 17th century icons originating from the territory of the historical Orthodox Diocese of Przemyśl within the borders of the Polish Kingdom.The aim of researching the iconography, provenance, and technology of the artworks was to describe their specific features and destination, in detail, and to characterise their artistic milieu. Many different techniques were used during research, such as X‐ray fluorescence (XRF), X‐ray diffraction, reflectography, radiography, ultraviolet–visible imaging, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy of prepared paint layer cross sections, and dendro‐chronological analysis. This paper focuses on highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of the spatially resolved macro‐XRF scanning (MA‐XRF) technique.Most interesting results concluded from elemental distribution maps obtained through the use of Bruker, M6 Jetstream MA‐XRF scanner include the following: characterisation of the type of gold and silver foil used in the icons; determination of main pigments, including the use of lead tin yellow unusual in iconography; and the noting of an interesting distribution of blue pigments as well as the presence of orpiment. Surprisingly, a considerable amount of zinc with azurite addition was observed in brown layers. The results obtained primarily highlight all the typical features of local Carpathian icon craft.