Beta
332981

Archaeometric Investigation Of A Triptych Coptic Icon, El-Surian Monastery, Egypt

Article

Last updated: 25 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

-

Abstract

The triptych icon is a unique type of Coptic icon, that has rarely been studied before. The archaeometric investigation helps to reveal the triptych icons' importance, and composition of the pigment palette and to monitor the manifestations of deterioration to determine appropriate treatment. A triptych icon was chosen from the El-Surian monastery in Wadi El-Natron. Cracks, dimming, yellowing, and parts loss indicate aging processes and chemical interactions with environmental conditions. The examination techniques are used to determine the stratigraphy of the icon. The spectroscopic methods used were Raman spectroscopy (RS), Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive Xray analysis (SEM-EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), which have revealed the basic composition and characteristic bands of pigments and the type of protective varnishes applied. The painting technique was tempera style applied on Abies alba (Silver Fir) wood and cotton canvas, the ground layer was calcium carbonate mixed with animal glue. The medium of pigments was egg yolk. The icon also contained some pigments that were rarely combined with each other, such as Prussian blue, ultramarine, barium chromate, titanium dioxide, and cadmium yellow. The shellac was used as a varnish. Spectroscopic studies of pigments helped in the dating process and it was concluded that the icon dated back to the late 19th century.

DOI

10.21608/arcs.2023.240690.1039

Keywords

Triptych, Coptic Icons, Raman spectroscopy, Dating, X-Ray Diffraction

Authors

First Name

Fatma

Last Name

Helmi

MiddleName

M.

Affiliation

Conservation Dept., Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Egypt

Email

fatma_helmi@cu.edu.eg

City

cairo

Orcid

-

First Name

Mona

Last Name

Abdelghani

MiddleName

Hussien

Affiliation

Department of Conservation, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University,

Email

mabdelghani2001@yahoo.com

City

cairo

Orcid

-

First Name

Shenouda

Last Name

Abdelmalek

MiddleName

Yousef

Affiliation

conservation department , faculty of archaeology ,Fayoum university

Email

sya14@fayoum.edu.eg

City

fayoum

Orcid

-

Volume

4

Article Issue

2

Related Issue

45083

Issue Date

2023-12-01

Receive Date

2023-10-04

Publish Date

2023-12-29

Page Start

31

Page End

51

Print ISSN

2682-3454

Online ISSN

2682-3462

Link

https://arcs.journals.ekb.eg/article_332981.html

Detail API

https://arcs.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=332981

Order

3

Type

Original Article

Type Code

1,070

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Advanced Research in Conservation Science

Publication Link

https://arcs.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Archaeometric Investigation Of A Triptych Coptic Icon, El-Surian Monastery, Egypt

Details

Type

Article

Created At

25 Dec 2024