Object Analysis

Analyzing Detail in Art Objects

Artistic endeavor results in a diverse spectrum of works ranging from monumental sculpture to fine textile decoration. The history of art objects is not just in their production, but in their use through time. Approaches to characterizing and understanding these objects that describe our cultural heritage are as diverse as the artworks themselves, and can be supported by a wide range of instrumentation allowing a deeper understanding of an object's story. Bruker allows you to access the diversity of art with the latest in non-invasive elemental and molecular analyzers.

Recent Publications

Bruker's TRACER handheld XRF and ELIO portable mapping XRF instruments reveal new insights into the production techniques represented in the Portuguese illuminations.

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On the use of EDXRF and UV-Vis FORS to unveil the production of two illuminated manuscripts from the fifteenth century Portuguese Royal Court


C. Tibúrcio , S. Valadas , A. Cardoso , A. Candeias , C. Barreira, C. Miguel
Microchemical Journal, 153, 104455, 2020

Non-invasive investigation of illuminated manuscripts using Bruker's ALPHA FTIR portable spectrometer discriminates between pigment-binder systems on painted parchment. 

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Non‑invasive identification of paint binders in illuminated manuscripts by ER‑FTIR spectroscopy: a systematic study of the influence of different pigments on the binders’ characteristic spectral features

Luca Nodari and Paola Ricciardi
Heritage Science, 7:7, 2019

Bruker's ELIO portable XRF spectrometer was used to study the pigments of a collection of 17th-18th enameled French watches from the Musée du Louvre in Paris, revealing key compositional information that sheds light on technological developments during this period.

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Pigments and glassy matrix of the 17th–18th century enamelled French watches: A non-invasive on-site Raman and pXRF study


Philippe Colomban, Burcu Kırmızı, Catherine Gougeon, Michele Gironda, Catherine Cardinal

Journal of Cultural Heritage, 44, 1-14, 2020

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