Publicomos

Notice (permalien)

Réf.

43251

Type

article

Titre

Roman wall paintings: characterisation of plaster coats made of clay mud

Langues

English

Auteurs

Bugini, Roberto / Corti, Cristina / Folli, Luisa / Rampazzi, Laura

Maison d'édition

MDPI

Date

20/05/2021

Pages

p. 889-905

Titre de la revue

Heritage

Vol. & n°

v. 4

ISSN

2571-9408

Mots-clés

Roman art / wall paintings / clay / pigments / microscopic analyses / spectroscopy / X-ray analysis / infrared spectroscopy / archaeometry / microanalysis / mineralogical analysis / infrared analysis / plaster

Pays mentionnés

Italy

Monuments et sites

Santa Maria alla Porta (Milan, Italy)

Résumé en anglais

This paper reports on the mineralogical characterisation of samples of wall paintings from various Roman sites in Lombardy (Italy), revealing recurrent types of stratigraphy. One of the stratigraphic samples analysed was found to be a particular kind of plaster: a three-coat work featuring two coats made of clay mud, found in the site of Santa Maria alla Porta (area of the Imperial Palace of Milan—first century CE). The fragments were analysed using optical microscopy on thin sections, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive spectrometer and infrared spectroscopy, also in non-invasive external reflection mode (7500–375 cm−1). The most interesting feature found was the finish coat made of clay mud (illite, chlorite, kaolinite and fine quartz) with a few coarse clasts and linear cavities. This clay coat was the first example ever detected in Roman Lombardy and was used in combination with a thin painted coat made of clay mud with coarse clasts together with a blue pigment (Egyptian blue) and a render coat made of lime associated with lithic clasts (sand). Our findings brought to light a particular construction technique, since in the historical sources clay is only recommended for daubing on reeds and as a render coat.

URL

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/heritage

Document joint

Heritage_2021_1.pdf

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)