Raman spectroscopy of Japanese artists' materials: The Tale of Genji by Tosa Mitsunobu

Abstract

AbstractMicro‐samples from the earliest complete copy of the Japanese masterpiece The Tale of Genji were analyzed by Raman and FTIR spectroscopy to determine the materials used. The album was commissioned in 1509 and consists of 54 illustrations by Tosa Mitsunobu with matching calligraphic pages painted by six different court calligraphers. The pages were originally pasted onto a folding screen but were remounted in an album in the 17th century and a frontispiece and finispiece illustration painted by Tosa Mitsuoki. The illustration for chapter 52 is a replacement of unknown date.The following materials were identified in the illustrations: azurite, indigo, malachite, atacamite, botallackite, chrysocolla, gamboge, vermilion, lead(II,IV) oxide (red lead), red ochre/haematite, calcite and basic lead carbonate (lead white). A smaller range was used on the calligraphic pages: vermilion, lead(II,IV) oxide (red lead), indigo, gamboge, yellow ochre and calcite.Most of the materials identified are part of the traditional Japanese palette, and a wide range of tones was created by mixing pigments from this relatively restricted set. The hydrated copper chlorides, atacamite and botallackite, may be alteration products of original malachite. The chrysocolla, a natural amorphous copper silicate, was probably incorporated accidentally with the malachite, as the two can occur together in nature. Chrysocolla occurs with malachite only on the replacement illustration for chapter 52, which lacks copper chlorides.The lead carbonate and red lead are both discolored in many areas. Lead sulfate was identified in some altered areas of red lead and probably represents a secondary alteration product. The primary alteration product of both lead pigments is assumed to be lead(II) sulfide, as silver in the manuscript has altered to silver sulfide. The alternative alteration product, lead(IV) oxide, is considered less likely. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.