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184 Alteration study of silver inks on parchment
Evaluation of untreated samples after accelerated ageing
Most of the parchment samples of sub study 1 were severely deformed during the acceler-
ated ageing. The samples were mounted only on the upper margin. The parchment turned
stiff, curled up and especially the ink areas shrunk strikingly, which complicated analyses
and observations (Fig. 30). In contrast, the parchment samples of sub study 2 did not
deform to such an extent60, because they were mounted on four sides. Only the reference
samples, which were sprayed with a 3.5 % solution of sodium chloride in water (sample-set
C), were severely deformed after the alteration (Fig. 31). They became detached from the
mounting during ageing. Additionally, the colour of all parchment samples had turned
duller and slightly darker.
All reference inks showed changes in colour and turned brownish in varying degrees
during the ageing process. Some samples in both sub studies show signs of corrosion: in
sub study 1, samples of the reference inks ST1, ST3, ST4, ST5 and ST6 developed signs
of ink corrosion in different degrees in form of cracks, tears or losses in the areas the ink
had been applied on (Fig. 32). Reference ink ST1 contains copper in the form of copper(I)
oxide, whereas ST5 contains artificial urine and egg white and ST6 contains sodium hy-
drogen carbonate and was prepared with wine vinegar. In the case of the reference inks
ST3 and ST4, the used silver powder was obtained by grinding silver in a marble mortar
using wine vinegar as lubricant. While sodium hydrogen carbonate was added as a fur-
ther component of ST3, ST4 contains potassium nitrate in addition. All of these inks
60 As explained above, the reference samples of sub study 2 were mounted on each side with Japanese
tissue and wheat starch paste, while the samples of sub study 1 were only mounted on one side.
Fig. 30: Samples ST1_B from sub study 1 after accelerated ageing: a) Late Antique parchment, b) Glaser
parchment.
Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0
The Vienna Genesis
Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Titel
- The Vienna Genesis
- Untertitel
- Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Herausgeber
- Christa Hofmann
- Verlag
- Böhlau Verlag
- Ort
- Wien
- Datum
- 2020
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-21058-0
- Abmessungen
- 17.3 x 24.5 cm
- Seiten
- 348